Words I'll Never Say
by x-psychicfire-x
Summary: Professor Dumbledore arrives in Konoha with an intriguing proposition for a certain blonde-haired Ninja. What originally was supposed to be a 'bodyguard' mission turns into an Adventure filled with danger, friendship and the last person Naruto ever expected to turn up at Hogwarts who will change his life forever. Takes place during 5th Year. Yaoi/Slash. SasuNaru. RonHerm. HarryCho.
1. A Failed Mission

**Thanks for clicking! This is my first crossover fan fic - this one involving Harry Potter and the Naruto anime series. Please note that this is also a SasuNaru story as well, so if you're not into Yaoi/Slash or have no idea what Yaoi/Slash means then you oughta look elsewhere - this story is not for you! Reviews are welcome but please no flames. Thanks xx**

* * *

**A FAILED MISSION**

Naruto felt numb.

It's a funny feeling numbness – you feel vulnerable, helpless, feel like giving up and show an absolute desire to do completely fuck all. At least, that's what he wanted to do. Either that or cry a rain of never-ending tears until he shrivelled up like a prune. But he couldn't do that, because he already had done that – back at Orochimaru's lair.

He had just watched his best friend - Sasuke Uchiha, fade away before his very eyes while Sasuke's hard onyx eyes stared with an emotionless expression back at him, pinning him where he stood. Naruto then dropped heavily on his hands and knees and wept, ignoring his other teammate, Sakura Haruno who was trying to comfort him and at the same time stem the tears threatening to flow from her vibrant green eyes.

They both realised at the exact same moment that they once again failed to convince and bring back their obviously lost and vengeful friend home.

Basking in the brilliance of their failure, squad seven front up to Konoha's front gates two days later and go their separate ways to reflect on what had happened and to rest. All except Naruto who was too busy staring at the way they had come with a depressed, almost defeated expression on his tired tanned face.

"Uzumaki?"

A voice speaks out gently as though afraid Naruto might instantly burst into tears or dissolve into an uncontrollable Kyuubi-style rage at having failed once again. Yamato walked over to Naruto's side and placed a cautious hand on his shoulder. Deadened cerulean blue eyes looked back into concerned midnight black eyes.

"Yes?"

He knew that Yamato was offering him the chance to talk about what had just transpired, but he had no desire to talk about it. At least not right now and certainly not with somebody he barely knew or who freaked him out with his 'scary look'. He didn't really want to discuss it with Sakura, who appeared to be the most logical person to talk about their failure because she had been there ever since Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had officially formed squad seven under the guidance of Kakashi-sensei.

But it wasn't the failure of the mission that was bothering Naruto, it was more personal than that.

Sai was definitely out of the question, mostly because he was socially ignorant due to lack of emotions and would probably interpret it in a way that would probably confuse the blonde. Naruto was also most likely to murder the ex-ROOT member every time the size of his dick was mentioned, and when the ink using ninja continues to call him the insulting nickname 'dickless'. If Sai didn't stop commenting inappropriately about Naruto's manhood, he would be castrated, if not by Naruto then by Sakura who constantly had a short fuse around the emotionless bastard.

Kakashi-sensei was still injured from the last mission he had gone on that involved the reinstated squad seven (minus Sai who hadn't arrived on the scene yet and obviously, Sasuke) and Team Gai rescuing the Kazekage from the Akatsuki who had kidnapped him in order to extract the one-tailed raccoon demon that had been sealed within him into a stone statue with lots of eyes.

Despite the fact that Gaara had died briefly and been resurrected from the dead, the entire mission was a success. Kakashi was just a little chakra exhausted and would've been fine to come and help Sakura and Naruto retrieve Sasuke if Gai-sensei hadn't been so enthusiastic to race Lee back to Konoha, consequently knocking out the copy ninja when he bashed his face against the back of Gai-sensei's head and rendering him unconscious and out of commission for a while. This forced Tsunade to enlist Yamato – an ANBU captain – to lead squad seven instead.

Tsunade probably would be the next most logical person to go to talk about his problems, and despite probably understanding what he was going through she was far too busy and Naruto also didn't feel comfortable discussing it with her – he needed a different wise ear who understood exactly what he was feeling.

However, he still needed time to get over the pain of losing Sasuke once again.

"I am going to deliver the report to her ladyship. You're free to go home."

Naruto nodded before shifting his pack more securely on his back and shuffled off towards the crowd, allowing the mob of people to swallow him up. Yamato sighed helplessly as he watched the sorrowful boy disappear from view, knowing how much the normally hyperactive, unpredictable jinchuriki truly felt about the Uchiha traitor. It was obvious that Naruto had feelings for the Uchiha.

_Her ladyship is going to be most displeased..._ Yamato thought grimly as he took to the rooftops and bounded his way towards the Hokage Tower to deliver the mission report to the Hokage herself.

* * *

While Naruto was tired and in desperate need to sleep for days, he found himself walking towards the abandoned Uchiha compound to stare at the dilapidated traditional Japanese house, deep in troubled thought.

It was easy to see why Sasuke had rarely spent his time here at his parents' home – it had a foreboding aura. Like the souls of the brutally murdered were still around. Like they were staring at him at this very moment. Naruto shuddered at the very thought. He instantly saw the obvious signs that the villagers had pillaged the home for all its valuables to feed their families or just because they could because Sasuke wasn't around to threaten them with painful dismemberment if they even dared to touch his parents' belongings.

Naruto frowned at that thought.

The first thing he was going to do after he dragged Sasuke's stubborn ass back to Konoha was report the theft - not that those ridged elders will even consider giving him the time of day. He was the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no kitsune - the fox demon who terrorised the village 15 years ago and killed innocent people. There was no way. Feeling the anger rising in him, Naruto immediately turned and went home. He slammed his Apartment door closed and toed off his sandals.

"God, I need a shower." He muttered underneath his breath as he unzipped his black and orange jacket and tossed it carelessly onto his couch.

He stumbled lethargically into his bathroom and closed the door behind him before stripping and standing under the spray of his shower head, hopping in and out of the spray until the water turned hot. Naruto ducked under the spray and wet his hair moaning as the warm water trickled down his face, disguising the sudden tears that formed as he remembered the few last words Sasuke had said to him before they started fighting back at Orochimaru's lair.

* * *

_**~FLASHBACK~**_

_Naruto barely had time to blink before he found himself standing there with Sasuke's arm balanced casually on shoulder like a close friend would. It would've been believable if it weren't for the fact that Sasuke was threatening to kill him at the same time._

_"Come to think of it, wasn't it your dream to become Hokage, Naruto?" Sasuke's deep, baritone voice slid like silk over Naruto who had stiffened up the minute Sasuke materialised in front of him, malicious intent on his pale emotionless face. __His words were carefully chosen, but had the tone of hatred within his words._

_"Wouldn't it have been better to have focused on your training to become the Hokage, rather than chasing after me?" _

_Sasuke had asked casually but his voice had a mocking tone in it and Naruto could've sworn that the corners of his lips might've slanted upwards slightly into a cold sneer before returning to its neutral expression. Naruto relaxed very slightly, steeling himself so he could say what he needed to say next. He knew that Sasuke was not going to like what he had to say._

_"How can I become Hokage when I can't even save my best friend?" Naruto asked quietly trying to reach out to Sasuke with his words, hoping that he'd understand. _

_Sasuke then started chucking deep within his throat as though what Naruto had just said to him was incredibly funny - but the sound shot down the blonde's spine like icy rain dripping unpleasantly down his shirt. Sasuke shifted his arm slightly so that his hand was the only thing cupped on Naruto's shoulder. He didn't dare move, wondering desperately what Sasuke was going to do next. He stopped himself from jumping in shock just in time when Sasuke gently rubbed his thumb soothingly on his shoulder and the smallest gasp escaped Naruto's lips. _

_Out of his peripheral vision, Naruto could see that Sasuke's face had softened slightly and his onyx eyes were smouldering with a hidden message meant only for him - Naruto's words had reached him. However, Naruto was unable to distinguish exactly what Sasuke was trying to translate to him with that single non-threatening gaze. But just as quickly as Sasuke's face had softened, it hardened just as fast and he immediately tightened his grip on Naruto's shoulder causing the Jinchuriki to wince. He was going to gain a bruise there if he managed to escape this virtually unscathed._

_"I might have spared your last time on a whim, Naruto. But this time, my instincts are telling me to finish what I started." Sasuke whispered into Naruto's ear - his warm breath brushing across Naruto's cheek like a caress which caused Naruto to shudder, but not out of disgust. _

_Oh no, it was the complete opposite. _

_The hissing sound of a blade being removed from its scabbard rang out clearly and everyone in the vicinity knew that Sasuke was now drawing his Katana to impale Naruto upon it and 'finish what he had started'. The rest of the fight was a complete blur after that - at least in Naruto's point of view. Sai immediately intervened by grabbing Sasuke's wrist before he could deliver the final blow. Naruto let out a relieved breath just as Sasuke swivelled his head around to stare blankly at his replacement._

_"That was the correct move." He had said tonelessly. _

_Sai responded with his usual fake smile which looked like it irritated Sasuke. But when he moved to counteract the lethal strike, Sasuke grinned triumphantly._

_"But that was the wrong move." and striked like a pissed off cobra with a series to expertly excuted swords work, all barely dodged by his former teammates - Naruto especially. _

_But the most painful part of what happened that day was when Sasuke had retreated with Orochimaru, who had arrived at the last minute claiming that he was bored with the proceedings and ordered both Sasuke and his creepy assistant Kabuto to move out so they could seek out their new hiding place. Naruto couldn't remove the image of the cold unfathomable look Sasuke bestowed upon him before he literally disappeared without a trace._

_**~END OF FLASHBACK~**_

* * *

Naruto shut off the water abruptly and yelled out his frustrations. Realising that yelling wasn't enough he took his anger out on the bathroom tiles, blood pooling around his knuckles and seeping freely from the cuts. It dripped down Naruto's arm as he watched Kyuubi's charka immediately healing the wound.

A yawn forced its way out of Naruto's mouth and he realised that it was time for bed. Hopefully nightmares wouldn't plague his dreams tonight. The weary blonde stepped from the shower and vigorously towel-dryed himself before loosely tying the towel around his waist.

He padded over to mirror and brushed away the condensation with his hand before brushing his teeth. After exiting his bathroom, Naruto pulled on a pair of black pyjama pants and an orange t-shirt before collapsing onto his mattress, falling into a dreamless sleep.

He would remain there for an entire week - rising only to use the bathroom, eat and meditate.


	2. Some Shinobi Assembly Required

**Here comes another chapter update! Shout outs to: **

**1 - **_**Anonymous reader: **_**Thanks for the review. I guarantee you'll enjoy this chapter :D**

**2 - **_**ash2000ice: **_**Glad you enjoyed my first chapter. I appreciate your review :D**

**This next chapter will introduce Professor Dumbledore with an intriguing opposition for Naruto. Let's find out what that may be…**

**Oh and I forgot to mention that:**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. They belong to their respective owners. So sad…**

* * *

**SOME SHINOBI ASSEMBLY REQUIRED**

A week came and went and pretty soon Naruto was growing tired of being tired - he needed something to take his mind off of Sasuke. So he decided to go train - he was getting a bit doughy anyway. That, and somebody was trying to bash in his front door to find him.

"NARUTO! OPEN UP YOU BAKA!"

Naruto groaned and rolled himself out of his bed where his face had been plastered into his pillow with the added saliva crusting on his cheek from where he had drooled. The thudding continued, grating on Naruto's nerves.

"Alright! Alright already! Keep your hair on!" He yelled back before opening the door to reveal a highly annoyed Sakura. Naruto merely blinked at her before opening the door wider and turning to walk deeper into his room yawning audibly.

"Hallo, Sakura. What can I do for you?" He mumbled scratching his stomach slightly as he sauntered over towards his couch where his jacket was still lying and sat down with an exaggerated thud. Sakura's scowl deepened as she stepped over the threshold and shut the door behind her before walking towards him.

"This has got to stop, Naruto. You haven't left your Apartment for a week!" Sakura stated in an unimpressed voice. Naruto fixed her with a 'what's-your-point' look before yawning again and smoothing back his unruly hair with his hands.

But Sakura hadn't finished ranting yet.

"We WILL get Sasuke back, Naruto. One way or another - but keeping yourself locked up in your Apartment isn't healthy. You need fresh air and to catch up with your friends who have been bugging me about why they haven't seen you all week."

Naruto smiled apologetically at Sakura.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Sakura." He agreed. Sakura looked like she wanted to break something - possibly Naruto's face.

"I'm right? Well, if I am right, why haven't you done something about it?" she growled feeling frustrated and still not letting him off the hook at the moment. Naruto shrugged.

"Dunno. Just felt really tired." Sakura looked at him dubiously as Naruto got up from the couch and sauntered towards his kitchen where he retrieved some cup o' Ramen and clicked on the Kettle, gesturing to Sakura if she wanted one or not. She declined wrinkling her nose distastefully.

"But I'm sick of sleeping at the moment, so I'm gonna go train for a while. Wanna come?" said Naruto grinning at Sakura, though she noted that the brightness of the grin didn't completely reach his eyes.

They still looked as sad as ever.

_Oh Naruto..._ Sakura thought sadly, realising Naruto hadn't fully recovered from Sasuke's second defect.

Well, neither had she actually, but she was dealing with it a whole lot better than Naruto was. She still loved Sasuke, but she was smart enough to realise that her love for him was always going to be unrequited no matter how many times she tried to confess her feelings to the Last Uchiha survivor.

"Sure. Sounds fun!" she agreed trying to be enthusiastic as possible.

If Naruto knew she was faking the enthusiasm, he didn't comment on it. Sakura then moved to tell Naruto all about what had happened during his week long exile from the world as he practically inhaled his Ramen happily: Apparently, Hinata and Kiba were a couple now and Sakura knew why for several reasons. The first being that Hinata knew that Naruto was never going to look her way because he already had eyes for somebody else, and the second being that she realised she also had feelings for the hyperactive dog ninja who seemed totally blinkered about any other girl except for Hinata and got increasingly territorial towards other males - in particular Naruto, until he realised Naruto's heart lay elsewhere.

Neji had formed a romantic relationship with the stoic Kazekage and had been going to Suna to see Gaara every chance he got. That news seemed to interest Naruto a lot, and he was happy that Gaara had managed to find somebody. He just wished that it didn't hurt so much that all his friends were getting into serious relationships while he was feeling stuck in a rut, because nobody (male or female) would want to touch him with a ten foot barge pole because of the overgrown orange furball currently taking residence inside his body.

That was when Sakura reminded him that he wasn't the only one not currently in a relationship at that moment. _**She**_ wasn't with anyone, neither was Shino, Shikamaru, Lee or Tenten. Although there were rumours going round that Shikamaru had his eye on someone, but being the lazy bastard that he was, he wasn't going to declare his intentions anytime soon, much to their friends' exasperation.

"What about Ino and Chouji? You didn't mention them." asked Naruto who belched loudly causing Sakura to thump him before replying to his question.

"That's just gross, Naruto! But to answer your question, they're together." she replied flippantly as though not really caring.

But Naruto did notice a small smile on her face that probably wouldn't have been noticed if one hadn't been closely observing her face. Naruto raised an eyebrow in astonishment.

"But I thought she was drooling over the Teme…" he questioned tilting his head to the side looking like a confused baby fox.

_Kawaii!_ Sakura thought privately, but rolled her eyes as she stood up and brushed off the imaginary lint from her skirt.

"She gave up on him ages ago, Naruto." she answered, then her face went emotionless.

"And so have I." she declared quietly. Naruto knew she was lying, but didn't make any comment on it because he figured she was mourning the loss of her teammate as well.

"Right…" he said not believing her as he got up and tossed his empty Ramen cup into the bin.

"Back in a moment, just gonna shower." and he disappeared into his bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Naruto immerged from a very steamy bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Sakura chose the wrong moment to look up from where she was sitting patiently waiting for Naruto and felt her mouth drop open both from shock and lust.

"What?" Oblivious Naruto asked as he looked around for the source of Sakura's lustful gaze.

Naruto had bulked out quite well in her opinion. He certainly had changed from being a scrawny, dumpy little shit who used to continuously annoy the hell out of her teammates back when he was 12. Now? He was a lean 15 year old, with a finely chiselled tanned chest that featured a very, very nice six pack and well toned arms that Sakura strongly suspected that if Naruto flexed his arm, an impressive bicep muscle would immediately pop up.

A lone drop that Naruto had neglected to wipe away carved a trail down Naruto's quivering chest and disappeared beneath the towel that Naruto had slung loosely around his hips, which was not really leaving much to the imagination. Sakura forced herself to swallow the saliva that built up in her mouth the moment Naruto walked out of the bathroom in all of his glory.

Naruto was still trying to figure out what Sakura was gawking at.

"Are you alright, Sakura? You've gone all pink." Naruto said growing a little concerned as he came over to put the back of his hand on her forehead to test her temperature.

"Are you getting a fever?"

Sakura snapped out of her trance and impatiently pushed away Naruto's hand before turning away to give him privacy as he got dressed.

"I'm fine, you baka. Just get dressed, we've gotta go train, remember?" she reminded him and Naruto swore before turning into a tanned tornado trying to get ready.

Finally dressed in his awful orange and black tracksuit, Naruto rushed over to Sakura dressed up in everything except his hitai-ate, his weapons pack and his beloved Gama-chan - a froggy purse Naruto had for as long as he could remember. Naruto's hair was still quite damp and looked flyaway but Sakura didn't mind that because it made Naruto look undeniably and irrovocably sexy for someone as annoying and slightly simple as he was.

"Let's go!" said Naruto and both he and Sakura dashed out of the door.

* * *

However the moment the friends made it to squad seven's old training grounds for some training, there wasn't any time to even throw a punch. A piercing bird's call broke the peaceful silence and caused both shinobi to glance up at the sky. A beautiful brown hawk was circling above their heads indicating that the Hokage wanted a word with one of them.

"What do you think Baa-chan wants?" asked Naruto, frowning slightly as he shielded his eyes away from the bright sunlight. Sakura shrugged also frowning at the circling bird.

"No idea. As far as I know, today's my day off from training. Must be for you." she surmised.

Naruto sighed.

"Okay, don't wait up." he said and sprinted off to find out what Tsunade wanted from him. He took to the rooftops following the hawk who immediately took off the moment Naruto left Sakura and returned to towards the Hokage Tower.

_I wonder if I'll get another mission?_ Naruto wondered eagerly as he jumped up towards Tsunade's open office window.

"Hiya Baa-chan!" he called out cheerily, pouting slightly when Tsunade didn't even flinch when he called out. Instead, she glared at him.

"What is it with every ninja entering through my window instead of the doors like normal people?" she wondered out loud and started massaging her temples looking like she was on the verge of getting a whopper of a migraine.

Naruto grinned wickedly.

"We're not normal people." he answered ducking the projectile object Tsunade had aimed at him flinching slight as it exploded against the wall behind him.

"What did you need to see me for Baa-chan?" Naruto asked excitedly. Tsunade's mouth folded up into a small smile, choosing to ignore the 'baa-chan' comment before moving to the situation at hand.

"I have a solo mission for you, Naruto. A-ranked and it pays well." she answered waiting for Naruto's face to light up brighter than a torch at the mention of an A-ranked mission. Sure enough, Tsunade's prediction proved true as Naruto cracked the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face.

"YOSH! Are you serious!?" he bellowed.

Tsunade nodded seriously.

"Very much so, gaki." But then frowned when she realised that the huge grin on Naruto's face had suddenly dropped as he appeared to have realised something.

"But, how can I get an A-ranked mission? I'm still Genin." he pointed out the flaw in the mission plan. Tsunade nodded in the affirmative.

"Yes, that is true, this is a special circumstance. The mission requires a shinobi who is aged 15 years old. The client requested that specifically." she explained patiently.

Naruto looked confused.

"But why choose me? Not that I'm complaining but why am I so special?" he demanded, thinking that he was getting preferential treatment because of how upset he had been over the failure of his last mission. Immediately, he turned angry.

But before he could turn down the offer, Tsunade fixed him with a stern glare.

"When the client explained the mission to me, he was very clear about what he required in order for the mission to be a successful one. The shinobi involved needed to be 15 and capable of taking care of both himself and the person he is going to protect with his life." Tsunade explained, but raised a hand to silence Naruto before he could protest again.

"Yes, this mission is a bodyguard mission - you will be protecting a boy the same age as you named Harry Potter. He has been targeted by people the client has described as 'Death Eaters' who want nothing more than to kill him because he is a threat towards their master, a dangerous man who goes by the name of Voldemort. Though it is strongly advised that you do not say the name in public - it scares the people whom you will be associating with."

Naruto frowned, he didn't like the sound of the mission at all.

"So let me get this straight. I'm going to be paid to take care of some brat because a bunch of thugs have got it into their heads that he's some sort of public nuisance that needs to be taken care of? Wow, now why does that sound familiar?" he drawled.

Tsunade flushed slightly.

"And all because some older guy with a weird ass name has some kind of unknown grudge against him?"

Tsunade nodded. "Pretty much."

Naruto groaned. There had to be a catch in there somewhere. But before he could inquire more about his 'mission', there was a soft knock on the double doors. Both Naruto and Tsunade turned their heads towards them.

"Ah yes, the client has arrived." explained Tsunade. Naruto's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

"Come in, please." Tsunade called out.

The door opened and in strode the most unlikely person Naruto expected to step through the threshold. The client turned out to be a frail looking old man dressed in dull silver robes with a white rope tied around his waist like a belt. He had a long darker silver coloured cloak wrapped around his slender shoulders and trailing behind him like a wedding veil. Naruto could sense immense power raidiating from the man. He knew for a fact that he was anything but weak and frail despite appearances.

As the man walked closer to Tsunade's desk, Naruto continued his silent calculating appraisal. The man was tall and had several jeweled rings on his slender fingers. His thick long white hair fell hung loose down his back and had an equally white beard that had been tied back and out of the way with a loose cord. Perched on top of his head was a well-worn conical hat that was a faded silver with the tip of the hat bent over slightly as though it had been broken. It was decorated with golden stars that glittered brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight.

The old man's eyes were a bright blue hidden behind half-moon glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. The man's eyes were nothing compared to Naruto's cerulean blue eyes, but seemed to pierce Naruto's stern gaze as though knowing quite well that the jinchuuriki was trying to determine if he was friend or foe. He had pale wrinkled skin and his nose was crooked as though it had been broken at least twice by somebody's fist.

The man smiled warmly at Tsunade as he strode calmly into the room and grasped her hand in a respectful handshake.

"Good day to you, Hokage-sama. Is this the young man who shall accompany me back to Hogwarts for a year?" the man asked speaking perfect Japanese. Naruto jerked his head back to Tsunade in disbelief.

"A year!? You didn't say it was gonna be for a year!" yelled Naruto. The old man chuckled in amusement which caused Naruto to round on him in fury.

"You think this is funny!?" Naruto snarled. The man raised a hand to try and calm Naruto, but he was having none of that.

"But, I was hoping to wait around to see if there was any more news on Sasuke!" he protested desperately, but Tsunade wouldn't budge. The man waded in to fill in the gaps Tsunade had forgotten to mention.

"I'm afraid that that won't be possible, dear boy." he said.

Naruto glared at him.

"You see, I have received word recently that Lord Voldemort has just recently acquired a new recruit who will enrol into Hogwarts this year to try and assassinate Harry. Who that person is I haven't learnt, thus why I am seeking help from your charming village to investigate who the culprit is and protect Harry from them at all costs."

Naruto still looked unsure - but being the kind-hearted, underestimated and misunderstood person that he was, he reluctantly conceded to help the man who he learned was named Albus Dumbledore. But the moment his mission started as soon as he stepped through the doors of Hogwarts, he was to call him 'professor' unless they were in private.

"Or you may call me 'sensei' if you prefer." Dumbledore humoured Naruto trying to get him to crack a smile.

Naruto nodded.

"Very good." said Dumbledore smiling at Naruto. Naruto didn't return the smile but merely nodded respectfully back at Dumbledore before turning back to Tsunade.

"What are my last minute instructions?" he asked as politely as he could despite feeling extreme irritation towards the Hokage at that moment. Tsunade pushed a small file towards Naruto who immediately scooped it up to read through.

"You will be enrolling as a student at the school. That way you will be able to observe and protect Harry without drawing suspicion from other students and the culprit." Tsunade explained at the same time that Dumbledore produced a thick yellowed parchment envelope that he promptly handed to Naruto.

"The other teachers have already been informed that you shall be arriving this year, so if you need to ask any questions regarding your mission, feel free to ask them." said Dumbledore as he watched Naruto hesitantly take the envelope from him.

"What's this?" Naruto asked curiously, fingering the heavy envelope in his calloused hand. Dumbledore smiled before explaining.

"Every new student at Hogwarts receives a letter when they turn 11 years old congratulating them on their acceptance to Hogwarts and welcoming them to the school, detailing the items they need to purchase for the year ahead. Now, because your circumstances are unique - I've asked Professor McGonagall to write a different letter for you." he explained.

"Who's Professor McGonagall?" Naruto asked curiously. Dumbledore made an 'oh yeah' face.

"Professor McGonagall is one of the teachers who will be 'teaching' you at Hogwarts this year as well as helping you in anyway she can with your mission." replied Dumbledore in a tone that suggested that if it wasn't for the elegant persona he was trying to give he would've made jerky motions with his fingers to emphasise the word teaching.

Naruto nodded and glanced down at the front of the envelope which read in neat emerald writing:

**_Mr. N Uzumaki  
__The Hokage Tower  
__The Village Hidden in the Leaves  
__Fire Country  
__The Elemental Nations._**

_That's weird..._ Naruto thought before flipping the envelope to the back so he could open the letter.

On the back of the envelope was an old fashioned red wax seal that Naruto recognised as type the Hokage used for civillians since they obviously couldn't use chakra to open shinobi seals. Naruto could just describe what was engraved on the red wax: A Lion, a Badger, a Raven and a Serpent were encircled around a capital 'H' that Naruto assumed was the school's insignia. He cracked open the seal and pulled out three thick pages of brown parchment paper. The first page had a coloured version of the insignia top and centre.

Naruto read the following:

_Dear Mr. Uzumaki,  
__  
On behalf of the staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I would like to extend our sincere thank you for agreeing to protect Mr. Potter and the rest of our students from the Dark Wizards threatening their lives-  
_

Naruto had to stop reading at that moment when he suddenly realised exactly what he just read.

"_Witchcraft _and _Wizardry_?! Where the hell are you sending me?" he demanded feeling shocked.

"Hogwarts isn't an ordinary school my dear boy, I'm sorry if you thought that was the case." said Dumbledore looking genuinely apologetic.

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"Then what kind of school is it then?" he asked.

"A school of Magic."


	3. The Ambassador from Konoha

**Hoping that you're enjoying this story so far. Here comes the next chapter - this features Naruto accompanying Dumbledore to The Black Family's House in Grimauldplace. He will meet the Weasleys and Hermione, as well as the members of the Order of the Phoenix.**

**As always reviews are welcomed and no flames please. You have been warned.**

**Xx**

* * *

**THE AMBASSADOR FROM KONOHA**

_Dear Mr. Uzumaki,_

_On behalf of the staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I would like to extend our sincere thank you for agreeing to protect Mr. Potter and the rest of our students from the Dark Wizards threatening their lives._

_Please find enclosed a list of containing what you must purchase for the year ahead. Of course discretion must be advised at all times during your stay at Hogwarts as to not alarm the other students of your real objective at Hogwarts._

_I expect your reply via Owl no later than the 31__st__ of August. Or via Professor Dumbledore as f__irst term begins 1__st__ of September. _

_We hope this will be a most productive year and an enjoyable experience for you._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall  
__Deputy Headmistress  
__Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

Naruto glanced back up at Tsunade and then at Dumbledore who was going to be acting as his 'headmaster' during his mission. This was a lot to take in.

"I'm not being punked right? I'm not in some weird ass dream?" He asked hopefully, however the expressions he found on both Tsunade and Dumbledore's faces weren't exactly comforting.

"No, my dear boy. I can assure you that you are not being punked and this is not a dream." said Dumbledore. Naruto slumped back into his chair feeling overwhelmed.

"But I can tell you that you will enjoy your time there as Professor McGonagall has probably already stressed to you in that letter if I know her." He added. Naruto nodded before pulling free the list the letter had mentioned and scrolled through the items he would need to buy. A thought then struck him.

"Uh… I don't have any money to buy these with." he said sheepishly. Dumbledore chuckled indulgently patting Naruto on the head in a grandfatherly way.

"Not to worry, Naruto. An account has already been set up for you temporarily so you can purchase what you require. If you haven't noticed so far, you haven't been asked to purchase any spell books. Am I correct in saying this?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly.

Naruto scanned the list briefly already knowing that Dumbledore knew that he didn't, but he wanted to make sure.

"Nope. It doesn't." Naruto confirmed.

"That is because we will loan you the books you need to stay inconspicuous. So if anybody asks you why you haven't purchased any books - say that you had them special ordered and delivered already." Dumbledore instructed.

"Roger." said Naruto and he checked out the list again before his face brightened instantly.

"Yosh! I can have a pet?" he asked excitedly. Tsunade smiled warmly.

"Yes. I've already special ordered an owl for you. Just so we can keep in contact with you for the duration of the mission and so you can send any messages in a hurry should you need to. But let's hope that never comes down to that."

"Indeed." Dumbledore agreed.

"And as a thank you for taking on this mission, you may keep the Owl as a gift." said Dumbledore gratefully. Tsunade nodded appreciatively.

"Thank you, Dumbledore-san." Tsunade then stood up from her desk and walked around to stand in front of Naruto who after looking slightly disappointed that he couldn't get a Toad, got to his feet and stared at Tsunade warily before grunting when Tsunade encircled him in a tight hug.

"I want you to promise me that you'll be safe." she said, then bopped him over the head causing him to yell out in pain as she stared at him sternly.

"And report in every month. If you don't, well… you don't want to know the consequences." she threatened him but at the same time she had a motherly smile on her lovely face. Naruto massaged the lump that had formed on his head Tsunade had given him.

"Yeah, yeah Baa-chan. I promise." he said grinning cheekily at the woman who smiled back then bopped him over the head again for the Baa-chan comment. If Dumbledore thought that this exchange was strange, he didn't comment on it.

"When do I have to leave?" asked Naruto, folding up the letter and stuffing it into his pocket.

"In an hour. So go and pack the necessary items you require for this mission. I'll wait for you at the Front Gates." instructed Dumbledore who rose from his seat and bowed at Tsunade respectfully.

"Thank you again for you help and your impeccable hospitality, Hokage-sama." said Dumbledore.

"The pleasure's all mine." replied Tsunade who shook Dumbledore's hand and showed him out of the office. Dumbledore turned and stared sternly at Naruto.

"One hour, please." and then left.

Naruto smirked and elbowed Tsunade playfully in the side. The Hokage barely felt the jab.

"Looks like you're kinda sweet on him, eh Baa-chan?" Naruto teased her. Tsunade smirked right back.

"I doubt it, gaki. I don't think I'm his type or his right sex."

Naruto's eyes nearly fell out of his head.

"EH?"

* * *

The moment Naruto stepped out from the Hokage Tower he was immediately ambushed by Sakura who had a impatient and curious expression on her face. Her vibrant green eyes were alert and interested which made Naruto sighed feeling resigned. It seemed he wasn't going to get a moment to himself before he had to leave on his bizarre mission.

But if it paid well, who was he to complain?

"So?" Sakura immediately grilled Naruto who flinched when Sakura loudly yelled into his ear.

"So what?"

Sakura rolled her eyes in frustration as she followed Naruto through the village like a lost puppy waiting for Naruto to spill the beans about what her ladyship wished to talk with him about.

_Maybe she wanted answers about why he kept himself cooped up in his Apartment for a week? _Sakura thought.

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Naruto. Now stop beating 'round the bush. What did her ladyship want with you?" demanded Sakura as Naruto paused in front of his Apartment door, key at the ready.

"I've been assigned a mission." he replied before unlocking the door and entering, inviting Sakura inside knowing that she'd want to know more about his mission.

Sakura frowned.

"Is that all? Then why do you look so pensive?" she asked.

Naruto shrugged.

"Do I? Didn't mean to - the mission is just a little unusual, that's all." he explained as he pulled out his long-term rucksack and started shoving a years worth of clothing inside it as well as his toiletries and some snacks for the journey. Tsunade suggested casual clothing instead of his usual ninja gear because he would draw too much attention towards himself because of how bright his clothing was. Flurorescent orange would be too easy to notice.

Sakura raised a neatly plucked pink eyebrow.

"That's a lot of clothes for one mission. How long is it for?" she inquired.

"A year."

"A year? But that would make it at least an A-ranked mission!" said Sakura sounding impressed. Naruto nodded, smiling slightly as he finished stuffing the last of his civillian clothing into the rucksack.

"Naruto, that's so cool! What kind of mission is it?" she asked excitedly.

Naruto smiled a little - Sakura was going to be green with envy.

"A bodyguard mission, with chances that the client could possibly be assassinated." he replied basking in the glow of awesomeness that was his solo mission.

"Hey, that sounds similar to that Wave Country mission you made us go back when we were 12." said Sakura reminiscently.

Naruto's face dropped slightly at the memory, mostly because they barely got out of that one alive. Which was fair enough since they _were_ only inexperienced Genin at the time, under the guidance of their Jounin teacher. But also because it reminded him once again about Sasuke and when he had selflessly thrown himself into the onslaught of Senbon Needles that Haku had thrown at Naruto.

At that time, Naruto thought Sasuke had died. But in actual fact, he had merely been knocked unconscious.

_"My body moved on its own…" _

A small tear formed in Naruto's eye which he hastily brushed away in favour of packing for the mission.

"Yeah it does." Naruto muttered quietly.

Ten minutes before Naruto was supposed to meet Dumbledore at the village gates for the start of his mission, Sakura decided to tag along to see him off and to meet Naruto's mysterious client who had bestowed upon him the weird mission.

"You make sure you send me messages whenever you can, Naruto. Or I won't forgive you." Sakura demanded in a bossy sort of voice that made Naruto roll his eyes, but only when Sakura wasn't looking of course.

"You sound just like Baa-chan. I'm not about to break my promise am I? It's goes against my nindo."

Naruto paused in his steps and spun round to face a surprised looking Sakura who stopped herself just time so she didn't smack into Naruto. The blonde smiled sincerely at his friend.

"I promised I'd bring back Sasuke didn't I?" he reminded her causing Sakura to smile warmly back at him and wrap both arms around his neck to embrace him in a tight hug.

She linked hands with Naruto as they both continued walking towards Konoha's main gates where they could immediately see the tall figure of Dumbledore waiting patiently for Naruto to appear. The two guard ninjas on duty were giving him nervous glances. Which was fair enough, Dumbledore did look a little strange standing there dressed in what appeared to look like a dress.

"Ah Naruto. Right on time! You ready to go, dear boy?" asked Dumbledore pleasantly when Naruto finally arrived at the gate with a surprised looking Sakura eyeing Dumbledore with a curious stare.

"And who might this be? Your sweetheart perhaps?" Dumbledore inquired staring curiously at Sakura who blushed in embarrassment at the mere thought.

"Nope, Sakura-chan's just a friend, Dumbledore-san." answered Naruto grinning at Dumbledore who gave Sakura his full attention and politely extended his hand to her in greeting as Sakura cautiously took the hand and pumped it up and down.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

"Haruno Sakura." said Sakura hesitantly. Although she couldn't sense anything sinister or evil about the wise Headmaster, she would be a fool not to follow her shinobi instincts among strangers.

"Such a lovely name." Dumbledore complimented Sakura who blushed looking charmed. Dumbledore then turned towards Naruto with a warm smile and inclined his head.

"Well Naruto, we'd better get going. Got to take you to the House you'll be staying in for a couple of months."

Naruto nodded and turned to give Sakura another hug.

"See ya next year, Sakura-chan. I'll tell you all about it when I get back." he promised.

Sakura bopped him over the head, causing Naruto to scowl at her.

"You'd better!"

"Kuso! Was that really necessary?! Jeez!" Naruto bitched before following briskly after Dumbledore who started walking down along the road until Sakura couldn't see them anymore.

_Be safe, Naruto…_

* * *

Naruto and Dumbledore were about a mile away before the latter finally stopped in his tracks. The former looked at Dumbledore with concern.

"Do you need a rest, sir?" he inquired politely - not really needing a rest himself, but considering that Dumbledore looked like an elderly man by appearances it would be only reasonable that he might require a breather.

"No, Naruto. I'm perfectly well. It's just that now we need to travel differently now." Dumbledore replied smiling at the Ninja for his kindness.

Naruto glanced around for something unusual, considering that his client was a Wizard.

"I don't see anything." he said stupidly. Dumbledore chuckled in amusement.

"You wouldn't because the procedure is actually quite simple. You might even be lucky enough to learn it for yourself at Hogwarts." he explained to a very interested Naruto.

"Really? What is it?"

Dumbledore's smile widened as he raised his arm up for Naruto to grasp.

"Take my arm please Naruto."

Naruto stared at the arm incredulously before hesitantly taking it. Upon Naruto's touch, Dumbledore immediately twisted away from Naruto.

"AHHH!" screamed Naruto feeling incredibly afraid for the first time in his life.

Ninjas very rarely were afraid of anything, if they were it was usually under pretty horrific circumstances. The next thing our hyperactive, unpredictable Ninja knew was that both he and his mysterious client were now currently standing in the middle of a small fenced off park in the middle of a strange place.

Now that the world had stopped shifting around and had re-aligned itself into its proper place, Naruto promptly fell to his knees and was sick. Immediately, Dumbledore was at Naruto's side rubbing soothing circles into the blonde's back as Naruto was sick again.

This act of kindness instantly reminded Naruto of Kakashi-sensei and that fact made him feel homesick.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Naruto. I should've warned you that this might've happened." said Dumbledore apologetically as he assisted Naruto as he sat back against a nearby tree trunk and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He glared angrily at the elderly wizard looking down at him with mild concern.

_Damn straight you should've warned me…_ he thought bitterly as he watched with fascination when Dumbledore conjured what looked like a goblet out of thin air and mumbled what sounded like _**'Aquamenti'**_ underneath his breath, filling the cup to the brim before pressing it into Naruto's shaky hands.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto demanded as he gulped down the water like it was a breath of fresh air.

"'That' was the wizard's style of teleportation. Commonly referred to as Apparating." said Dumbledore monitoring Naruto in case the poor ninja was sick again before taking the goblet which vanished into thin air.

"I think I like my way better, if it's all the same to you." retorted Naruto resentfully as he struggled to get to his feet.

Dumbledore assisted him and waited until he was steady on his feet before letting go and producing a small scrap of paper from his pocket which he handed to Naruto.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"It's not important right now, Naruto. Just start reading it please. Unless you can't read the English language?" Dumbledore asked.

Naruto confirmed that he could read what was written on the paper.

"Good. Please do so and to yourself." Dumbledore requested as he guided Naruto to a small swinging gate that fenced in the park they were both currently standing in.

"_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at Number Twelve Grimauldplace, London, England."_

"What the hell? London, England?" muttered Naruto as he glanced up to ask Dumbledore why the fuck he gave him this to read when he instantly felt his mouth drop open in surprise.

He was currently staring at a row of unfamiliar flats each painted in neutral colours. But that wasn't what shocked Naruto. What was shocking was the fact that a hidden flat was immerging from in between two other flats, like it had been deliberately squashed together without anybody noticing. Naruto could see families within the windows of the two flats being forced apart to accommodate the hidden one and was mystified when it appeared that were completely oblivious to what was going on.

_I think I'm getting a headache… _thought Naruto just as Dumbledore guided him into the hidden house and knocked twice on the dusty looking front door.

_What other surprises am I about to discover? _He wondered just as the front door opened revealing a plump looking woman with red hair and a kind face answering the door.

Naruto decided instantly that this woman was no threat at all judging by the warmth he could sense radiating off of her that instantly made him feel safe.

"Good Evening, Molly. Having a pleasant evening?" Dumbledore said in a foreign language that Naruto didn't understand.

_Oh shit. What the hell did he just say? _

'Molly' hereafter known as Mrs. Weasley instantly brightened when she recognised who Dumbledore was and quickly ushered him inside.

"Oh Dumbledore, it's so nice to see you again." she gushed as both Dumbledore and Naruto entered the very dark, very silent and extremely dusty house. Naruto frowned curiously as he instantly started inspecting the area instinctively for hidden dangers.

That was when Mrs. Weasley suddenly noticed him.

"Oh? And who might you be, my dear?" she asked Naruto curiously. Naruto scratched the back of his blonde head sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you just said. Uh… a little help here, Professor!" said Naruto feeling exposed in this strange world were people didn't understand him.

Mrs. Weasley frowned slightly. "I'm sorry, dear. I didn't quite catch that."

Dumbledore figuratively speaking 'smacked himself on his forehead' when he realised his mistake.

"Oh, I've almost forgotten. My apologies, Molly. Young Naruto here is from a different country, so he probably didn't have the faintest idea what you just said to him. Give me a moment." Dumbledore explained, pulling what looked like a stick that was hidden within his robes and pointed it at Naruto.

Instantly, Naruto pulled free a Kunai and pointed it at Dumbledore in defence, alarming Mrs Weasley.

"Easy. Calm yourself Naruto. I will not harm you." Dumbledore soothed Naruto as the ninja eyed the wand warily before slowly replacing his kunai back into his weapons pack and letting Dumbledore proceed with what ever he was about to do.

Dumbledore pointed his wand carefully at Naruto throat where his vocal cords would be.

_**"Vorbesc limba Engleză!"**_ Dumbledore said in Romanian enunciating his words. Naruto felt a slightly warm sensation in his throat because he started to cough violently. Dumbledore smiled just as Naruto glowered at him once more.

"What the heck was that for?" Naruto demanded in English. His accent was very thick but he spoke the words with perfect accuracy.

Naruto's face brightened in realisation.

"Hey, I'm speaking English!" he yelled causing Mrs. Weasley to make frantic shooshing noises. But it was too late. Suddenly the silence was pierced with the sounds of a woman using extremely foul language. Naruto realised it was coming from a nearby portrait of a scary looking woman with wild, untamed black hair and a runny nose who was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"FILTH! INGRATES! DEFILING THE HOME OF MY ANSCESTORS! HOW DARE YOU!"

Mrs. Weasley and a balding red haired middle-aged man whom Naruto assumed was Mrs. Weasley's husband dashed into the room as they both desperately tried to close the curtains that covered the portrait of the scary looking woman.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" thundered a deep, gruff voice and immediately the sounds of feet thudding down a nearby dusty staircase was heard, then a young man with long, wavy black hair, a black beard and dressed in regal but shabby looking clothes came bursting into the corridor.

With a quick wave of a long stick that looked similar to Dumbledore's, the curtains were shut rendering the corridor into blissful silence again.

Naruto was shocked.

"My apologies, Dumbledore." the young man said bowing slightly to Dumbledore who waved away his concerns.

"It's quite alright, Sirius." Dumbledore reassured him as Sirius escorted them to a nearby room that Naruto figured was a well-scrubbed down kitchen to resume their conversation without triggering Mrs Black to start screaming. Everyone's eyes immediately zeroed in on Naruto.

"Who is this then?" Sirius asked pleasantly.

Naruto sank down in his wooden chair and looked warily at the strangers, then at Dumbledore who nodded encouragingly before reluctantly replying.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Sirius looked a little confused about why Naruto had stated his surname first instead of his first name, but then realised that it was probably his country's custom and smiled politely at him.

"Sirius Black. I'm pleased to meet you and welcome to my family's home."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and glanced around at the house's obvious neglect. Mrs. Weasley apparently agreed with his assessment due to the fact that her nose frequently wrinkled up with distaste at all the clutter, dust and probably all the hidden pests. Naruto almost smirked when he recognised the same personality traits Sasuke often exhibited when confronted with mess - usually within Naruto's apartment back in Konoha, and Naruto was always untidy.

Now both Konoha and Sasuke were very, very faraway from where he was, and that thought depressed him completely.

"This is your home?" he asked hoping his question didn't sound rude and would distract him from the painful memories of Sasuke.

Sirius chuckled realising the awkwardness of Naruto's question. He could tell that the blonde was trying his hardest to assimilate into a strange country. It definitely seemed obvious that boy looked completely overwhelmed that he was stuck in another country among strange people whose English customs were clearly quite different from what he was used to back home.

He sighed feeling sorry for the kid.

"Yes, unfortunately." he said eventually. Naruto frowned in surprise.

"Unfortunately?"

Sirius nodded grimly before explaining himself to a confused Naruto.

"When I was 16 I was disowned by my Mother and I ditched this house to go live with my best friend."

_Oh, well that sucks. Wonder why he was disowned…?_

"When my Mother died this house was bequeathed to me as the last surviving member of the 'Noble family of Black'." he said bitterly glaring at the wall.

Naruto suddenly felt angry - like Sirius resented being who he was. He tried to curb his anger, because Sirius had his reasons about why he disliked his family, but he couldn't help what he felt and he snapped.

"No offence Sirius-san because I don't know what you've been through, but if I were lucky enough to be in your shoes, I'd have been grateful I actually had a family who cared enough about me to keep a roof over my head."

Everyone in the kitchen stared at Naruto in shock. Everyone, except Dumbledore who feigned being deaf so Naruto could vent his frustrations. It was clear that this outburst was long overdue if what Tsunade had told him beforehand had anything to do with it.

"Back home, family is considered to be extremely important. When I was younger, I would've given anything to have a Mother and a Father who loved and cared about me. Instead, I grew up on the streets as an orphan and had to watch other kids my age go home to their parents."

Mrs. Weasley came over to where Naruto was sitting in his chair and wrapped an arm around his shoulders trying to comfort him. It was then, that Naruto realised that he had been crying - and in front of complete strangers too.

Sirius fixed Naruto with sympathetic eyes. It astounded him to see that amount of sadness and loneliness in eyes so old for one as young as Naruto was.

_That poor boy couldn't be much older than Harry... _Sirius thought grimly.

"I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me. All you needed to know was that I owned this house now, not that I hated my mother. Please forgive my tactless behaviour."

Naruto nodded wiping his eyes just as a young girl with long red hair came into the room.

"Mum, did somebody arrive?" the girl asked before clapping eyes on Naruto. The girl blushed briefly which made Naruto think of Hinata who before she started dating Kiba used to do that all the time around him.

"Oh yes, I completely forgot about the rest of you! Naruto, this is Ginny my youngest she'll be attending her 4th Year at Hogwarts this year." she said proudly, before she too realised just approximately how old Naruto appeared to be and then frowned quizzically at Dumbledore who seemed oblivious to the attention he was getting from her, while Ginny smiled shyly at Naruto and waved while he waved back smiling slightly in confusion.

However, before she could say anything, Dumbledore got in first.

"Yes, Molly?"

"Albus, you never really explained why Naruto is here aside from mentioning that he is from another country." she said, smiling warmly at Naruto who blushed underneath the scrutiny. Sirius and Mr Weasley nodded in agreement.

"Oh, haven't I? Please excuse the confusion, but all will be revealed during the meeting this evening when Harry will have arrived tomorrow evening." said Dumbledore causing everyone to react towards the name, especially Naruto whose ears pricked up the minute Harry's name was mentioned.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled knowingly. Naruto had automatically moved into bodyguard mode and Harry hadn't even arrived yet.

"Harry's coming?" an unfamiliar voice piped up.

Everyone glanced towards the kitchen door to see that a boy with the same red hair that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny had just walked into the room with a girl who had long bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. It had been the girl who had asked the question.

Naruto estimated that both the girl and the boy were roughly the same age as he was and that Ginny was a year younger.

"Yes, dear. But you shouldn't eavesdrop on other people's conversation. It's exceedingly rude." Mrs Weasley scolded them sternly. There was a loud pop and two older boys both with red hair as well, magically appeared in the room.

"Yeah Ron! Eavesdropping is very rude." they said in unison, scaring the shit out of their mother and Naruto who wasn't used to magic just yet.

Obviously they were being hypocrites.

Ron flushed red which made him look badly sunburnt. Naruto assumed that indicated that he was angry, or just really, really embarrassed. Mrs Weasley immediately rounded on them too.

"That goes for you two as well, Fred. George."

The twins smirked, causing Naruto to snigger when he realised just how much they reminded him of how he and Kiba frequently behaved back in Konoha. His chuckling attracted Ron and the bushy brown haired girl's attention towards him.

"Oi Dad? Who's he?" said Ron peering curiously at Naruto who scowled back, beginning to grow tired of being observed like a sideshow attraction.

"'He' has a name, and the name's Uzumaki Naruto." snapped Naruto. His anger surprised Ron and the girl whom Mrs Weasley called Hermione.

"What's your problem?" Ron growled. But before Naruto could answer, Hermione answered for him.

"Don't get mad at him, Ron. You _were_ unnecessarily rude to him." she scolded before wondering over to Naruto and extending her hand for him to shake.

"My name is Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you." she said smiling sweetly at him.

Naruto instantly knew that he'd get on well with this girl, Ron on the other hand might take awhile - he appeared to be hot-headed.

"Thanks."

Dumbledore chose that moment to get to his feet, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.

"Leaving so soon, Dumbledore?" asked Sirius also getting to his feet. Dumbledore smiled serenely.

"Indeed, I must. Very busy day tomorrow." he confirmed as he strode towards the door, Sirius trailing after him.

Before leaving the kitchen, Dumbledore turned towards where Naruto was sitting, looking like he was going to pass out from exhaustion and beckoned him over to speak with him. Naruto nodded and got to his feet taking his belongings with him, however Mrs Weasley stopped him.

"Don't worry about those, dear. Ron will take them with him when he goes up to his room. You'll be sharing with him and Harry when he arrives tomorrow."

Naruto paused briefly to nod and smile before following Dumbledore and Sirius to the front door.

"Well Naruto, this is where I leave you for the night. I will see you tomorrow to give you some more instructions." said Dumbledore.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto could see Sirius frowning curiously at what Dumbledore had just said.

"Understood. See you tomorrow evening." said Naruto bowing respectfully before turning and walking back down the dusty corridor nodding to Sirius in acknowledgement as he went past, knowing that the moment he was out of sight Sirius was going to pounce on Dumbledore and inquire about what he had just said to him.


	4. Naruto's Fangirls

**Thank you to my anonymous reader for that last review! I hope you enjoy this next chapter update :D**

**In this chapter, be expecting Naruto's interaction with the Weasley Family and Hermione, as well as a weird dream that Naruto has. **

**As ever, I am saddened to reveal that I don't own 'Naruto' - which sucks because I would LOVE to be Naruto's best friend and be the one to catch Sasuke's eye. I don't own 'Sailor Moon' or 'Cardcaptor Sakura' and I also don't own Harry Potter - but I hope I get inspired to write a book as brilliant as Harry Potter and gain billions like Ms. Rowling. **

**Constructive criticism is appreciated and flames will be disregarded. Sorry xx**

* * *

**NARUTO'S FANGIRLS**

Naruto shuffled down the dark, dusty corridor lined with old portraits that he had to look twice at. He could've sworn that the pictures moved on their own. Shaking his head, believing that he was sleep depraved, he found himself standing at the base of a long staircase that led up to the upper levels of the house.

To his right he could see the entrance to the Kitchen where he could see Mr Weasley and Mrs Weasley talking in hushed tones with Mrs. Weasley looking slightly neurotic and Mr Weasley looking tired but willing to listen to his wife's concerns. Because of the Kyuubi's sharpened hearing that Naruto had inherited since birth, he could hear his name being mentioned a few times and he sighed knowing that until Dumbledore or somebody else explained why he was unexpectedly here, everyone in this small run down flat was going to be wary of him.

He just hoped that when these nice people eventually learnt the truth about him, that they wouldn't shun him like the Villagers in Konoha did, and accepted him as an equal.

"Hey?" a soft voice spoke from behind him.

Naruto turned to see Ginny standing there smiling softly at him. He grinned back sensing that this girl was no threat towards him and felt a little unused to seeing half-decent looking girls smiling at him, usually because girls like Ginny used to focus their intentions towards a very unwilling and irritable Sasuke, whom Naruto always assumed was asexual due to his lack of interest towards practically anybody. So consequently girls shunted Naruto to the side in an effort to get to the cold (but admittedly) sexy Uchiha. But that was before Sasuke defected to Orochimaru, now Naruto wasn't quite sure what their reactions to Sasuke would be if he suddenly reappeared back in Konoha.

Naruto smiled tiredly at the pretty redhead.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked casually, walking up the staircase towards her. Ginny blushed slightly before moving to walk alongside him.

"Mum asked me to wait for you so I could show you to the room you'll be sharing with Ron and Harry." Naruto smirked when he noticed Ginny's blush becoming more pronounced when Harry was mentioned.

_Ahh, she likes him… _Naruto thought as he nodded sagely understanding **exactly** how Ginny felt.

_I know exactly how you feel, sweetie… _

Naruto rubbed one of his eyes with the back of his hand and yawned hard enough to possibly suck in an unfortunate fly.

"Oh cool. Lead the way!" he said politely gesturing for her to lead the way.

Both started to chat about themselves, with Naruto only revealing basic information about himself such as how old he was, who his friends were and had just started talking about what his all time favourite food was when Ginny hesitated just before they made it to the room he was bunking in.

Naruto stared at Ginny curiously.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, placing his hand on her thin shoulder. Ginny jerked out of her thoughts and stared at Naruto inquiringly.

"Huh? Oh no, nothing's wrong. I'm just trying to figure out how to word this without sounding rude." she replied nervously.

"Word what?" asked Naruto feeling amused at how flustered Ginny was getting.

Must be one doozy of a question that she wanted to ask. But before she could ask the question, the same loud popping noise Naruto had heard back in the kitchen caused both Naruto and Ginny to jump in surprise (Naruto) and annoyance (Ginny).

"God! Will you two stop doing that?" snapped Ginny smacking Fred on the arm and causing him to curse.

"Hey, quit hitting me!" Fred complained as his twin sniggered beside him, causing Ginny to turn on him and slap him too. George scowled at his baby sister.

"Well stop acting like a couple of morons." she retorted. Naruto watched the siblings squabbling with complete bemusement until Ron randomly opened a nearby bedroom door and stuck his head out, looking annoyed.

"Would you guys shut up already or Mum's gonna tell us off!" he growled.

Immediately the three went quiet. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Will you relax already? I was just showing Naruto to your room when Fred and George came out of nowhere and scared us."

Ginny gently took Naruto's arm in her hand and tugged him along to the door, with Fred and George following them. Smirks appeared on their faces that instantly made Naruto feel both apprehensive and suspicious. He couldn't help it, he was a ninja after all and clearly these two were up to something or knew something that involved Ginny and her sudden, unexpected defensiveness. Ron nodded oblivious to what had just happened before retreating back into the room and opening the bedroom door wider.

Inside the tiny room were three small cots which had been crammed inside. There was barely any leg room for two boys to walk around in, let alone three as Harry would be sleeping in this room too once he finally arrived. Sitting on one of the cots was Hermione who had her nose buried in an old and heavy looking book. That immediately reminded Naruto of Sakura when she was completely focused on studying back at the Academy when they were training to become shinobi. He just hoped that Hermione didn't have a similar temperament as Sakura.

Hermione looked up the moment Naruto came into the room and instantly gave the blonde a warm smile, much to Ron's chagrin.

"Hey Naruto." she said, marking her place in the book and setting it aside, freaking everyone out as she had never done this before. Ron sighed tiredly at this and pointed towards a bunk that Hermione wasn't sitting on that Naruto figured was his because all his stuff was lying on the dusty, quilted doona.

"That's where you're sleeping." Ron muttered before heading over to his cot and sitting down on it after shoving aside the junk already lying there.

Naruto smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks." He said as he collapsed onto the bed from exhaustion and glanced up to see all five of them looking at him curiously, making him feel slightly uncomfortable. It was then that he realised that Ginny hadn't asked her question yet.

He sighed but sat up anyway.

"So what did you want to know?" he asked Ginny stretching out his tired limbs and giving satisfied grunts when he heard his joints popping and locking back into place all courtesy of several gruelling missions he had done back in Konoha before this current one. His shirt rode up slightly showing some of his skin and an impressive six-pack. The boys watched with amusement and disgust as Ginny sat beside Hermione before answering. Both girls had their eyes glued to Naruto's chest and had blushed a nice shade of pink as they watched Naruto stretching.

They could see that he was definitely nicely muscled, with a natural tan. Not to mention the lovely sunshine yellow hair that spiked up in different directions giving him the 'just woken up' look and cerulean blue eyes that lit up when Naruto was genuinely happy. Both Hermione and Ginny definitely liked what they saw, and as usual, Naruto was completely oblivious.

Ginny cleared her throat trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Uh, I was just wondering which country you came from?" she asked curiously, Hermione also looking intently at him with interest. Naruto gave his trademark grin.

"Oh, I'm from Fire Country." he replied not thinking though his answer beforehand. Understandably, all five of his captive audience pulled confused expressions.

"I've never heard of any Fire Country." said Hermione frowning slightly.

Fred nodded.

"Yeah, that's sounds like a really odd name for a country. Would've thought you might've come from either China or Japan." he observed. Naruto's eyes widened when he realised his mistake. Dumbledore had warned him not to reveal what he really was until the next night when he would explain his unexpected presence.

_"If anyone questions you about where you have come from, tell them that you've come from Japan. That's all they need to know until more is revealed later." _Dumbledore had requested him to say, Naruto just didn't realise that he'd have to explain so quickly.

Naruto scratched his head awkwardly, trying not to wilt underneath the scrutinising stares.

"Yeah, that's right, I came from Japan - just a _very_ small part of it." he lied quickly. They nodded, seeming to believe him.

"I've been there before on holiday with my parents once." Hermione commented casually. "It's extremely fascinating. A little strange maybe and beautiful, but definitely fascinating." she added.

"What do you mean 'strange'?" Naruto asked. Hermione smiled with embarrassment.

"Most of their TV shows like '_Sailor Moon' _or '_Cardcaptor Sakura'_ are a little unusual, as well as some of their Manga comics." Hermione then narrowed her eyes at Naruto studying him curiously,

"In fact, I think I vaguely recognise you from somewhere…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to finish that sentence before Hermione shook her head.

"But that would be impossible. Don't worry about me, I really must be tired." she apologised flushing a bit.

Naruto nodded looking confused about what she was going to say. He knew for a fact that where he had come from had nothing to do whatsoever with Japan, and the fact that he and the other shinobi and civilians spoke Japanese was just a coincidence.

"Yeah, impossible." he agreed vaguely, ignoring when Kyuubi suddenly sniggered unsympathetically in his head. But before they could question him again, Mrs Weasley suddenly burst in looking disapproving.

"What is going on in here? Are you interrogating poor Naruto?" she asked looking around at all the now guilty looking faces of Harry's friends whom Naruto now realised he was going to protect as well as his intended innocent. Naruto smiled kindly at Mrs Weasley who smiled at him apologetically.

"It's fine, I really don't mind, Weasley-san." Naruto reassured her but Mrs Weasley shook her head, opening the door behind her wider and pointing out the door.

"You're a very polite, dear. Your parents have done well raising you." Naruto winced, but thankfully Mrs Weasley didn't notice.

"But you really must be exhausted from travelling, you need your rest. Come on everyone, Ron and Naruto need to sleep and so do you." she ordered.

Immediately Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione looked like they wanted to protest since they obviously found Naruto interesting, but one stern look from Mrs Weasley was enough for a hasty exit and they wished Naruto goodnight and hoped to learn more about him the next day. When the door closed and the overhead lights were switched off so that the only source of light available was the side table lamp Ron had next to him, Naruto and Ron sized each other up before sitting down facing each other from their cots.

"Is there something on your mind?" Naruto asked as he shrugged off his orange hoodie and draped it over a nearby chair. Ron looked a little guilty before peeling back the doona on his cot and sliding beneath it having already gotten ready for bed.

"Er… I just wanted to say sorry for what I said before back in the Kitchen." Naruto paused in the act of taking off his jeans and glanced at Ron before chuckling in amusement.

Ron raised an eyebrow in confusion and slight offence before Naruto finished taking off his jeans and grinned at Ron as he draped them over the chair, straightening his black t-shirt. His grin reminded Ron strangely of a fox due to the six fine whisker scars on both Naruto's cheeks and how unnaturally sharp his front teeth were: almost animal like.

"Nah, it's all good. I get that a lot from people I first meet." he brushed away Ron's awkwardness before sinking beneath his doona like Ron and tucking both arms behind his head.

"Really? Why's that?" Ron mumbled as Naruto's face momentarily fell before just as quickly giving the impression that he was trying to think of an appropriate answer to Ron's question. However, Naruto was afraid that the actual answer would scare his new friend away, and just how exactly do you explain to somebody, who barely knows who you are that you have a dangerous demon living within you?

"It's complicated." he replied sighing and staring at the ceiling morosely. "But I'll let you know when I can trust you." Naruto whispered that last part to himself, before suddenly hearing Ron start to snore LOUDLY.

Naruto groaned.

_Oh great! He sounds even worse than Sakura does when she has a blocked nose during a cold… _

Naruto immediately flopped over to face the wall and pulled his pillow over his ear to block out the noise. Eventually, Naruto fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Naruto woke up to find himself standing ankle deep in lukewarm water in what appeared to be a sewer.

_What the hell? _

Naruto followed the tunnel, turning around every twist and bend in his path before he realised that he was actually standing in the middle of his subconscious where Kyuubi resided trapped behind an iron gate which was held shut with a powerful seal placed there by the Yondaime Hokage, that could only broken by Naruto himself when he was at his angriest. A situation many shinobi prayed never happened.

The blonde sighed.

**"Something wrong, kit?" **asked Kyuubi sounding bored. Naruto yawned and levelled Kyuubi with a glance.

"You tell me. You're the one who brought me here." said Naruto scratching his belly like he always did when woken up. The fox's huge head appeared from out of the shadows of the cage and his sinister silted red eyes blinked down at his keeper in bemusement.

**"Uh…no I didn't kit, I think I'd remember if I wanted to talk with you." **Naruto frowned in confusion.

"Then if _you_ didn't bring me down here, who did?"

Naruto scanned around searching for answers when he finally noticed somebody radiating sinister vibes standing within the shadows leaning casually against the wall watching them. Naruto gawked in astonishment, before turning around and giving the stranger his full attention. He felt a sense of foreboding at the sudden appearance of this stranger.

Kyuubi shifted restlessly in his cage, also feeling uneasy that somebody had managed to infiltrate Naruto's mind so easily. The only people who were capable of entering his kit's mind without any difficulties would be those with doujutsu or a member of the Yamanaka clan. They specialised in mind-reading jutsus. The fox lord doubted strongly that the stranger standing before him and Naruto was a Yamanaka clan member, so he had to assume that whoever it was had an incredibly powerful doujutsu.

"Kyuubi? Who the hell is that?" Naruto asked feeling apprehensive.

The stranger shifted his stance slightly but remained hidden in the shadows making it impossible for Naruto or Kyuubi to identify who it was. The only thing that both Naruto and Kyuubi agreed with was that the stranger was definitely shinobi.

**"If I knew the answer to that question, I would've attacked already. Wouldn't I?" **said Kyuubi sounding irritated.

Naruto straightened up and deliberated whether or not he should approach the stranger to identify who the person was. He took a small step forward, but it apparently was the wrong choice as the stranger immediately retreated to a different place further away from Naruto and the trapped fox demon but remained still within plain sight of them.

"Who are the hell are you?" Naruto demanded cautiously.

The stranger didn't reply, but Naruto was convinced that whoever it was was smirking at him - something that Naruto disliked completely. What was worse was he couldn't sense anything from him - not any sign of any chakra signatures, which meant that who ever the person was was extremely good at hiding their chakra from other shinobi. He obviously viewed Naruto and Kyuubi as a threat.

"How did you get into my subconscious?" Naruto tried again. There was no reply. Naruto was starting to get frustrated and Kyuubi could sense it.

**"Kit, you need to calm down." **Kyuubi tried to soothe his captor but it wasn't an easy feat.

"Easy for you to say, _you _don't have some stranger taking residence in your subconscious." Naruto retorted. Luckily, Kyuubi was feeling generous and sympathetic to his kit's plight and decided to ignore the slight in favour of helping the obviously freaked out blonde.

**"If you don't calm down right now, you're going to worry your new roommate." **Kyuubi reminded him of his current whereabouts. That made Naruto temporarily forget about the silent, unnerving stranger standing in the shadows as he spared a thought towards his new friend sleeping nearby in peaceful unsuspecting slumber.

"Ron?"

He would definitely have a lot of explaining to do if Ron suddenly woke up in the middle of the night to find him basically unconscious and talking to himself in his sleep about how somebody infiltrated his subconscious. The stranger suddenly chuckled in amusement. Naruto snapped his head back towards him in shock.

He recognised that condescending laughter anywhere.

"No way, it can't be..." he whispered taking a step towards the stranger who this time made no move to evade him. He just stood there - waiting. Naruto ignored Kyuubi who was frantically trying to get him to stop, but Naruto was determined to prove his hunch wrong. If the stranger turned out to be who he thought it was… well he hadn't figured out what he was going to do next - he just wanted to confirm his suspicions.

**"Kit! Get your ass back here right now!" **Kyuubi demanded only to be ignored again.

Naruto made it about a foot away from the stranger when he was suddenly greeted with sinister blood red eyes that took him by surprise. Immediately, he felt dizzy and his knees buckled from underneath him.

**"KIT!?" **Kyuubi bellowed as strong arms quickly caught Naruto's falling body around the waist and cold, calloused hands supported his head. Blunt fingernails brushed against his scalp as he was gently lowered to the floor, water licking at his body.

**"Kit? Kit! Can you hear me? Answer me, damn it!" **

Naruto opened his eyes when he heard Kyuubi's deep frantic voice and registered that he was still within the confines of his mind, except that everything was now blurry, and Kyuubi's voice was fading away as reality started pulling him back. Naruto was extremely confused until a dark figure appeared in view, smirking from ear to ear as his smouldering blood red eyes looked down at him from hooded eyes. His spiky blue-black hair reflected in the dimmed orange-yellow lights on the sewer-like walls.

Naruto gasped. He **definitely** recognised this person.

"Sasuke?" Naruto mumbled groggily. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Sasuke's smirk widened as his eyes faded back to his usual fathomless onyx and he bent down towards Naruto who froze, unsure what he was about to do. He got his answer when he suddenly felt soft warm lips place a gentle, barely felt kiss onto his own chapped ones…

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he was immediately shocked awake from his extremely realistic dream and sat bolt right up in bed in a cold sweat. His fingers hovered over his lips absently as he remembered what happened.

He trembled hard.

"Who's Sasuke?"

Naruto's head jerked towards where Ron was sleeping, realising that his roommate had woken up and was blinking groggily at him. Before Naruto could reply to Ron's question, there was a sharp knock at their bedroom door. Both boys looked at the door.

"Ron? Naruto?" It was Ginny. Ron moaned and flopped back onto his pillow trying to go back to sleep.

"Yeah?" Naruto replied, still shaken from his encounter with Sasuke in his subconscious as he tore the doona away from himself and sat on the side of the cot.

"Mum says breakfast is ready." she replied before both boys heard her fading footsteps.

_Breakfast?_ Naruto's stomach growled in agreement.

"Great! I'm starved." announced Ron happily as he hopped out of the cot and pulled on his jeans, swapped his pyjama T-shirt for a stripy beige coloured T-shirt. As he headed for the door. He stopped when he realised Naruto hadn't budged from where he was sitting.

He was staring his feet, looking troubled.

"Hey, you okay mate?" Ron asked Naruto with concern.

Naruto snapped out of his musings and looked up, fixing Ron with a fake smile that wasn't as good as Sai's but got the point across as he responded to his new friend's question.

"Oh, yeah. Just still a little disoriented." he lied. Ron didn't look convinced, but his stomach growled and he seemed to heed its call rather than deal with Naruto.

"Okay. I'll see you downstairs. Careful you don't wake up Mrs Black though." he warned before quietly closing the door behind him. Naruto waited until he couldn't sense Ron anymore or hear his footsteps before he returned to his thoughts on the unexpected reappearance of Sasuke in his subconscious even though he was miles away.

_What the fuck's going on? Why have you suddenly reappeared in my thoughts after all this time? And why did you KISS ME!? Is this some kind of joke? _

Naruto shook his head and stood up, rooting around in his rucksack for some fresh clothing. He found another black T-shirt this time with an orange spiral pattern in the centre that represented Konoha's Leaf Symbol, and a tight pair of blue jeans that curved in all the right places - he had a security chain that he sometimes used during some downtime with Sakura, Sai and the rest of Rookie Nine and on missions where he had to remain inconspicuous which he had attached to a belt loop on his jeans and clipped Gama-chan to.

As he pulled the jeans out of his bag his fingers touched something cold. He froze for a moment before pulling it free. It was Sasuke's old hitai-ate which he took everywhere he went for inspiration and motivation. He smiled with nostalgia before setting it aside for a moment so he could get dressed. His trip to see Kyuubi had caused Naruto's seal to resurface, so now around his navel was a complicated and very detailed black swirl.

Which was exactly what Fred saw when he unexpectedly opened the door without knocking to find out what was keeping Naruto per his mother's request.

"Wow. That's such a cool tattoo - where'd you get it?" he asked sounding extremely impressed.

Naruto jumped and spun round to face Fred. He glanced at him in confusion before realising what he was talking about and hastily shoved on his black T-shirt before Fred could ask anymore questions. It was not a subject that Naruto was eager to talk about, considering that it led towards the topic of Kyuubi.

"It's a birthmark. I was born with it." Naruto replied hesitantly as he tugged Tsunade's necklace out from behind the shirt and let it dangle against his chest.

"Wicked." Fred stated as George's head darted into view around the corner as though he were attached to Fred by the hip.

"What's wicked?" he asked curiously. Fred gestured excitedly at Naruto's stomach like a hyperactive six year old just as Naruto buttoned his fly glancing at the twins like they were nuts.

"Naruto's got a really cool birthmark." he said as George's eyes widened in surprise and zeroed in on Naruto's navel. Said blonde suddenly felt the extreme urge to get as faraway as possible from the now grinning twins as he finished getting dressed by lacing up his sneakers and tying Sasuke's old hitai-ate around his bicep.

His stomach once again saved the day.

"Woah. I really must be hungry. Gotta go!" said Naruto hastily before speeding out of the room so fast he was practically a blur. It would've been easier to have just teleported out of there like any typical shinobi would have, but (and Naruto groaned in frustration because of this) he wasn't allowed to reveal what his true occupation was just yet: Dumbledore's orders.

Naruto charged down the staircase using the silent footfalls he had been trained to use as a ninja as to not wake up Mrs Black from behind her curtain and piss off Sirius. He skidded to a halt just within the threshold of the kitchen causing the people who were already in there savouring their breakfast Mrs Weasley had generously cooked up for them to look up in surprise.

Mrs Weasley narrowed her eyes disapprovingly at Naruto who chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Heh heh. Sorry about that." he apologised. Mrs Weasley still wasn't amused.

"There's never any excuse to run around in the house. Particularly this one where any loud noises will disturb that dreadful woman behind that curtain. No offence, Sirius." she apologised to said man who seated at the head of the table munching away at a piece of toast as Mrs Weasley lectured Naruto on house etiquette as he sat down at the table next to Hermione who immediately blushed causing Ron to scowl discreetly at him.

"Don't stress, Molly." he said grinning almost wolf-like at her. Mrs Weasley straightened up and moved towards the stove.

"Now Naruto, what would you like for breakfast? Bacon, Eggs and Sausage? Pancakes? Toast? Porridge? Cereal? Kippers?" she waited for orders politely. Naruto nearly drooled at most of the options… except for Kippers.

_What the heck are Kippers? _he thought.

"Uh? What are Kippers?" he asked curiously.

"They're a kind of fish." answered Mr Weasley who was tucking into a large plate of Bacon, Eggs and Sausage and sipping on a small cup of Tea.

Naruto glanced around at what everyone else was eating for some ideas: Ron was eating the same thing as his father at top speed and had a large glass of Orange Juice; as did Fred and George who had come into the room minutes after Naruto did and were chatting amongst themselves, occasionally glancing at Naruto now and then; Sirius was eating a simple plate of Toast and Jam but had a small cup of coffee; Hermione was quietly eating a bowl of something white and lumpy with something golden drizzled on top that made Naruto's nose wrinkle at the smell with a cup of Tea; and Ginny was eating cereal and had a large glass of Orange Juice.

"Er… Pancakes, please." said Naruto grinning at Mrs Weasley who smiled back.

"Of course, dear. Won't be a minute." and turned back to the stove.

Naruto yawned and glanced around the sunlit room and a large glass of Orange Juice hovered through the air and landed promptly in front of him much to Naruto's astonishment.

"Uh…thanks?" said Naruto.

"You're welcome, dear." said Mrs Weasley. Naruto took a generous sip from the glass as Hermione grabbed his attention.

"Did you sleep well, Naruto?" she asked politely taking a sip from her tea. He nodded stretching a little causing the sunlight to reflect off Sasuke's hitai-ate on his arm catching everyone's attention.

"What's that there?" asked Sirius politely, but Naruto could sense some caution radiating from him that made him raise an eyebrow. Why was Sirius so wary of him? Did he do something insulting?

"Oh, just decoration. It's something my friends and I wear back at home." Naruto replied vaguely, wishing Sirius would stop looking at him - knowing that he wasn't giving all the facts.

"Why is there a slash through that strange symbol?" Hermione asked gingerly running a finger across the scrape Naruto had once made with his kunai long ago when he fought against Sasuke at the Valley of the End. Naruto felt a sharp pang before answering her question.

"Oh, that? These come in different designs." he explained "That symbol represents the Village I came from: the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Naruto elaborated further.

"That sounds pretty." Ginny remarked smiling at him.

"Are you apart of some sort of Gang?" asked Fred grinning at him slyly. Naruto frowned.

"Why do you say that?" he asked cautiously.

"'Cause you mentioned that your friends all have one. We assumed that it was something that you wore to represent some sort of Gang." George answered.

Naruto paled slightly which made Sirius sit up a little straighter at that and narrow his eyes. Mrs Weasley who turned around at that moment with a plate of pancakes misinterpreted Naruto's change in colour to feeling uncomfortable and sternly reprimanded her twins.

"Don't assume anything, boys. Get all the information first _before_ interpreting anything. You've made poor Naruto uncomfortable." she said placing down Naruto's breakfast in front of him, causing him to instantly perk up and seize his knife and fork. He grinned happily at Mrs Weasley.

"Thanks!" he beamed before attacking his meal with vigour. Mrs Weasley smiled indulgently at him before turning away to finish what she had been doing before Naruto, Fred and George arrived.

Sirius then rose from his seat.

"Please excuse me, Molly. I'm expecting an owl from Dumbledore about his arrival to explain Naruto's presence here, and I need to feed Buckbeak." he said.

"Of course, Sirius. Do what you need to do." she said drying her hands with a Tea Towel. Naruto's head jerked up with interest.

"Who's Buckbeak?" he asked with his mouth full.

Mrs Weasley and Hermione wrinkled their nose disapprovingly, but Sirius gave a small smile before answering.

"Just a friend of mine. You may meet him later on if you wish." he replied causing Naruto to grin so brightly it almost rivalled the sun.

"YOSH! That'd be great, thanks!" he yelled before continuing his attack on his breakfast. Sirius chuckled with amusement before heading out of the kitchen towards the staircase.

_He is certainly going to be an interesting one… _He thought.

* * *

**Please remember to review! Otherwise I don't know if you're enjoying it or not :D**


	5. Your Mission should you choose to accept

**Welcome back to 'Words I'll Never Say'! If you're reading this it means that you're enjoying my work.  
That makes me really happy, thanks a lot!**

**What to expect in this chapter: Sirius inviting Naruto up to visit Buckbeak, but having an ulterior motive instead, Dumbledore arriving to explain Naruto's presence and everyone learning about Harry's 'expulsion' from Hogwarts. **

**I had a vivid dream that I owned Naruto, but then woke up to the harsh reality that is my life to learn that it was only just a dream. I own ALL seven of the Harry Potter books and almost all eight of the Harry Potter movies - but sadly I do not own ownership rights. That belongs to JK Rowling in all her awesomeness.**

**Constructive criticism as always is welcomed warmly, but flames are dangerous and will be used to toast my marshmallows. Thanks xx**

* * *

**YOUR MISSION SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT…**

Naruto sighed with boredom as he sat on his cot, sharpening and polishing his weapons ready to hide them at a moments notice in case one of the wizards or witches would unexpectedly knock on the door to try and find him. But so far nothing like that had happened since breakfast, where upon Mrs Weasley announced that in the weeks leading up to when they were supposed to go and gather their school supplies for the year ahead, they would be helping Sirius clean his house from top to bottom.

A fact that accumulated in a united groan of exasperation from the younger guests in the small cramped house. All except for Naruto who was used to doing other peoples' housework because of several D-ranked missions he had taken three years ago. Of course privately, he did groan because he hated doing chores like this back then and was less than enthusiastic about the concept now. The only upside to this entire situation was that they weren't going to do the thankless chores straight away.

They were still waiting on Harry to arrive safely from his Aunt and Uncle's house (a fact he learnt from Ron and Hermione during one of their conversations together - and an easy way to gather information about his intended client without raising suspicion) and the adults were going to be having a private meeting in the Kitchen that involved the business of the 'Order of the Phoenix', and it required ALL members to attend. So the children were allowed to spend what little time they had doing whatever they wanted before 'spring cleaning' the place from ceiling to floor.

Which was what Naruto was currently doing. But just to be safe and to keep up appearances, plan B was to appear to be 'reading' his scrolls - which he did needed to do too because it was required by Tsunade if he wanted to achieve his goal of becoming the sixth Hokage when Tsunade deemed him to be ready and mature enough to take over from her when they time came. Naruto just hoped that Sasuke would be back and re-instated as a qualified ninja in Konoha before that happened.

A knock at the door stopped Naruto from wiping a wet rag over his kunai as he glanced up cautiously at the door.

"Yeah?" he called wondering who it was.

"Naruto, it's Sirius - may I come in please?"

Naruto's eyes widened when he realised how much he had spread out during his weapons' maintenance. He hastily started snatching up the closest kunai and shuriken within arm's reach as he answered.

"Uh… just a minute."

He managed to grab up and stash his weapons back into his thigh pack which he zipped up and swiftly hid behind his pillow before bounding towards the bedroom door within two steps. He opened the door to find a calm but bemused looking Sirius standing there looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"Sorry, I was studying. I just put away my stuff." he stepped back to let Sirius in. "So what's up?" he asked trying to sound as casual as possible which told Sirius that he was desperately trying to hide something.

However, Sirius didn't step into the room like he intended to. Naruto frowned.

"Did you want to come in?" he asked.

Sirius smiled. "No I just came over to invite you to come see Buckbeak like I promised. You want to join me?" he asked politely and laughed when Naruto's face lit up excitedly.

"Sure. Thanks very much!" and immediately fell into step behind Sirius who started walking down the corridor.

Almost immediately, Naruto could sense Fred and George following them whispering to each other as they tried to remain inconspicuous and not alert both Sirius and Naruto that they were being followed. What they obviously didn't realise was that Naruto knew very well what they were doing, as did Sirius who pretended it was Naruto following him and not the twins as he led them to where he kept Buckbeak.

However, before he and Naruto entered the room he paused with his hand on the doorknob.

"Alright boys, you've already seen Buckbeak - can you leave us alone now." said Sirius firmly stunning both Fred and George completely.

"How'd you know we were following you?" asked Fred stepping out of the shadows with George frowning suspiciously at the man. Sirius raised his head and smiled innocently at them.

"Instinct." he said winking at the boys who looked confused for a second before realising what Sirius was getting at and nodded before turning to leave. Feeling confused Naruto shook his head as he watched the boys disappearing around the corner before turning back towards Sirius who opened the door.

"Stay behind me for the moment, just until he settles down." Sirius warned before entering the room first, with a wary Naruto following.

Immediately Naruto's sensitive nose picked up on a foul smell that reminded him of some bird poo that had once landed on his shoulder back in Konoha. But judging by the creature Naruto could now see, he could see why he would immediately come to this conclusion. The creature occupying the room was half bird, half horse and it instantly went on the defensive the minute it saw Naruto who shrank back feeling slightly hurt.

Sirius frowned.

"Woah, Buckbeak! Easy!" he scolded the creature before giving Naruto a suspicious, calculating glance. Naruto looked resigned which deepened Sirius' curiosity before he turned his attention back to the Hippocriff and bowed before him keeping eye contact.

"What are you bowing for?" asked Naruto curiously.

Sirius would have smiled if it wasn't for the fact that Buckbeak had reacted so strongly towards the seemingly harmless boy.

"It's a sign of respect for the Hippocriff." he replied still focusing on Buckbeak who studied him for a moment before returning the bow and turning away, eying Naruto curiously.

"Hippocriff?" asked Naruto.

Sirius sighed before walking slowly towards his friend and patting his feathery neck.

"Yes, that is what Buckbeak is." he explained. Naruto nodded but kept his distance instinctively - considering it was a strange, foreign creature to him. Sirius continued patting Buckbeak for a while longer before sighing loudly.

"What is it?" asked Naruto sounding concerned. Sirius looked Naruto dead in the eye before replying.

"I had an ulterior motive for bringing you here, Naruto." he said apologetically. Naruto frowned instantly shifting back into shinobi instincts.

"Really? What's that then?"

Sirius swallowed hard, trying to think of a way to explain without insulting Naruto, who really did seem like a nice kid despite being slightly secretive. Which Sirius knew was of Dumbledore's doing.

"Last night I overheard your brief conversation with Dumbledore just before he left. After you went to bed, I questioned Dumbledore about what you both were talking about and he granted me permission to learn why you're really here and who you are first." said Sirius.

Naruto looked surprised. "Why would he do that?"

Sirius hesitated for a second before replying.

"I'm assuming that he believes that I will help you convince everyone else when he arrives at lunchtime today to explain your circumstances, and I intend to provided I know all the details first." He guessed.

Naruto was reluctant to say anything, because he only had Sirius' word that he was telling the truth about what transpired after he went to bed. But seeing no other option, and wanting somebody on his side who knew who he was, he caved.

"I am a Ninja. I was assigned into this mission by my Hokage who said that Dumbledore required my bodyguard services this year." said Naruto pausing for a moment to see what Sirius' reaction was. Seeing none at the moment, he continued.

"He explained that a boy my age named Harry Potter had been targeted by a group of what he called 'Death Eaters' and a man called Voldemort-" Naruto cut himself off when he remembered Tsunade warning him not to use that name as some people feared hearing the name being uttered. Sirius obviously realised why Naruto had stopped so abruptly and smiled kindly at him.

"You can say Voldemort's name in my presence. I don't fear it. But the Weasley's and Hermione do, just for future reference." Sirius reassured him. Nodding, Naruto continued.

"Dumbledore also explained to us that Voldemort had also recently recruited a new member into their fold and that they will be enrolling into Hogwarts this year to assassinate Potter. My mission is to protect him at all costs under the guise of a foreign exchange student just transferred to Hogwarts for the year to learn about the techniques of Western witches and wizards, and to identify and take out the culprit assigned to take out Harry." said Naruto.

Sirius was silent for a moment as he studied Naruto thoroughly.

"There is no possible way you could be lying about this, judging by how serious your expression is. But what mystifies me the most is how young you look to be undergoing such an obviously dangerous mission." Naruto flushed with embarrassment.

"You say that you're the same age as Harry, right?" Naruto nodded.

"How long have you been a ninja for?" Sirius asked sounding outraged. Naruto sighed feeling awkward about something that seemed so natural to him and other ninjas.

"I became a Ninja when I turned 12 after studying to become qualified since I was eight."

Sirius looked horrified.

"But you're so young - why would you want to live such a life in the first place?" he demanded.

Naruto focused on the floor sadly - letting the memories of being hated, scorned and shunned wash over him, and remembered the determination that got him to where he was right now.

"To prove to myself and the Villagers that I was capable of becoming a powerful, respected ninja like others before me and to achieve my goal of becoming Hokage which has been my dream since I was six. Unfortunately, it has been and still is a hard, lonely and sometimes gruelling journey to get to where I am." He said sadly willing away the tears that threatened to break free from his eyes. Sirius' face softened with concern as he noticed the sorrow on Naruto's face.

"Why is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

Naruto looked up debating whether he should reveal why, or risk saying why and having more people scorning him. Sirius could see Naruto's hesitation and smiled at him reassuringly.

"Whatever you say to me will be kept secret until you feel ready to tell everyone else." He promised using a gentle tone in his voice. Naruto, seeing the sincerity on Sirius' face and in his voice, risked it all.

"On the night I was born, a Fox Demon named Kurama invaded and attacked my village, killing many of the villagers and shinobi. At the time, the Fourth Hokage was reigning and it was his job to protect the village, and he did the only thing he knew of and that was to seal the Fox Demon into a newborn child whose umbilical cord had just been cut." He paused wiping away the tears that had finally broken free and trailed down his face.

"That baby was me. In the process, sealing Kurama into my stomach killed the Fourth Hokage but saved the Village from the Demon. But as a result of that one event nearly all the Villagers hated and feared me because of Kurama and they still believe that one day I might revolt against them and the Village, and it has been that way for the past 15 years."

Sirius growled.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." he cried out angrily, causing Naruto to look startled and anguished, assuming that Sirius had rejected him. But Sirius hadn't finished.

"You should be honoured as a hero for saving your Village, not scorned for something you didn't remember or had no control over! Preposterous." He raged.

Naruto smiled hopefully. "I didn't even know that I had Kyuubi living within me until I was 12 and on a mission with my team." said Naruto.

"Kyuubi?" asked Sirius.

"Yeah, that what he prefers to be called." Naruto explained giving his trademark grin.

Sirius smiled at him glad that what Naruto told him wasn't as bad as he originally suspected it to be. But then again doubting Dumbledore was probably a bad move - he wouldn't deliberately put people in harm's way. The 'Kyuubi' situation could undeniably be a potential problem, but Sirius hoped that Naruto would be able to keep it under control.

"Well, that does explain why I caught a whiff of fox on you." he chuckled causing Naruto to frown at him in confusion.

"You can smell Kyuubi? How?" Sirius gave a toothy grin.

"I'm an Animagus." He replied grinning at the confusion he could see on Naruto's inquisitive face.

"What's that?" He asked.

"I have the ability to shape-shift into an animal at will." Naruto's eyes widened with disbelief.

"Can you show me?" he asked interestedly.

"Sure."

Sirius stepped away from Buckbeak and went to another corner of the small room that Naruto now noticed was covered with hay and Rat's blood. Before Naruto's eyes Sirius shifted quickly from being a fully grown man with shoulder-length wavy black hair and a beard and moustache into a large black shaggy dog with human eyes and a wide grin on his chops. The dog trotted over towards Naruto and sat at the amazed ninja's feet.

Naruto crouched down to Sirius' level and scratched behind his ears.

"That is so cool. You'd get along great with Kiba." Naruto remarked as he straightened and Sirius gave a throaty chuckle then barked.

_"Is that so? I hope to meet him one day if he's anything like you." _

Naruto could hear his thoughts because he was technically an animal himself. Sirius then walked back over to the corner and changed back into a human.

"That's better." he said cracking his back casually to work out the kinks. There was a solid knock at the door, that startled Buckbeak. Immediately Sirius used soothing words on the Hippocriff.

"Easy. Easy."

He then walked over to the door and opened it slightly.

"Yes?"

"Excuse the intrusion, Sirius - but Dumbledore has arrived and is waiting in the Kitchen for us." It was Mrs Weasley and she sounded solumn. Naruto assumed it was because they were about to learn why he was here. Thankfully, he had Sirius on his side.

"You haven't happened to see Naruto have you? I can't seem to find him." she asked worriedly.

Naruto half thought Sirius was going to say that he was standing in the room with him but was surprised when he feigned ignorance.

"No, sorry Molly. But I can go find him if you wish?" Sirius suggested.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you." She agreed before hurrying away.

Sirius and Naruto waited until they could no longer hear her feet descending down the stairs before he opened the door wider. Naruto jumped slightly when he felt something tugging on his sleeve. He turned to see that Buckbeak had snuck up behind him and latched onto his sleeve.

Sirius smirked.

"Looks like you've made a new friend." He observed as Naruto timidly pat Buckbeak on his feathery head. Instantly, the Hippocriff leaned into the gentle touch, clearly sensing that Naruto was no threat towards him.

* * *

The Kitchen was quiet when Sirius and Naruto walked in still chatting like old friends. Both smiled warmly at Dumbledore who was sitting calmly at the Dining Table sipping on a strong cup of Tea that Mrs Weasley had prepared for him.

"Naruto, there you are. Where did you get off to?" asked Mrs Weasley fussing over Naruto who smiled happily at the concern. An emotion Sirius sympathised with Naruto over due to the story he had only just heard from him.

"Exploring the house, with Sirius' permission of course." Naruto lied causing Sirius to smirk behind Mrs Weasley's back and Dumbledore giving him a knowing twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

"Oh, well that explains why I couldn't find you." she said before taking a seat next to her husband who was waiting patiently for Dumbledore to spill the beans. Naruto took a random seat as Dumbledore then got to business, his face turning serious.

Naruto gulped audibly.

"I have some unfortunate information about Harry I need to report." said Dumbledore grabbing everyone's attention, and turning Naruto's blood cold. Had he already failed this mission before it even started?

"Due to circumstances out of his control, Harry has been expelled from Hogwarts." Naruto relaxed, but felt really peeved - he had come all this way for nothing? There was an angry outburst all around the table.

"On what grounds?" demanded Ron.

Dumbledore raised a hand indicating that he hadn't finished speaking just yet.

"Calm yourself, Mr Weasley. Harry isn't going to be expelled - not until he has a formal hearing by the Ministry to decide his guilt." Dumbledore reassured them. Appeased, everyone relaxed slightly, but Naruto was yet to relax as Dumbledore was now going to be talking about him. Sirius may trust him, but what about everyone else?

Dumbledore's eyes zeroed in on him.

"Now it's time to talk about why Naruto is currently living with us." Ears pricked up and eyes swivelled between Naruto and Dumbledore.

"Naruto is a mercenary or rather simply known as a Ninja. I travelled to his home world and requested his services to protect Harry and anybody close to him at Hogwarts this year."

Ron and Hermione's mouths dropped open in shock but didn't interrupt as Dumbledore continued his explanation.

"I have reason to believe that Lord Voldemort (everyone except Sirius and Naruto winced) has just recently acquired a temporary new member into his gang of Death Eaters. It is rumoured that that new member shall be enrolling into Hogwarts in an attempt to assassinate Harry within the school."

Everyone looked horrified, except Sirius who already knew about it but had a inscrutable expression on his face to hide the fact he knew. Naruto felt like he wanted to disappear or have the floor swallow him up.

"But aren't Ninjas dangerous?" asked Hermione curiously.

Naruto felt hurt that Hermione would immediately have that kind of opinion about him, so decided to speak up and defend his occupation.

"Only if we need to be, and only if you were the intended target we've been assigned to for our mission." he replied. Ron frowned not convinced.

"I don't believe that you're a Ninja. Where's the proof?" He demanded folding his arms across his chest. Dumbledore smiled.

"Ah, but there's a lot more to this explanation. For starters, Ninjas possess a special type of magic to aid them with their tasks. Which is why enrolling Naruto as a 'foreign exchange student' from a Magic School in Japan is the best guise to keep him anonymous." Dumbledore could still see the sceptical looks on everyone's faces, so he turned towards Naruto.

"Would you like to demonstrate your skills please, Naruto?" asked Dumbledore pleasantly.

Naruto nodded not seeing how showing everyone his abilities to create a clone or climb up walls without using his hands would suddenly convince them, but he got to his feet and stood off to the side so he could demonstrate his 'magic' skills to his audience. Pausing for only a moment, Naruto controlled his chakra towards his feet and walked towards the Kitchen wall. Hesitating slightly because he hasn't been the greatest at controlling his chakra, he placed one foot flat against the peeling paint and balanced himself before walking one foot after the other up the wall as though it were just another stretch of floor.

He grinned when heard stunned gasps all around him.

"How in the world is that even possible?" Mrs Weasley asked her hands covering her mouth fearing that Naruto would suddenly fall off the ceiling and crack his head open on the well-scrubbed floor of the Kitchen.

"Chakra control." Naruto replied hoping that he'd only have to give the minimum explanation into exactly what that was. He wasn't Sakura after all and able to memorise information like a walking encyclopaedia.

"What's chakra?" asked Ginny curiously.

Naruto grimaced.

_There we go. Knew that was coming sooner or later… _

Naruto released the chakra from his feet, did a flip in the air and landed somewhat gracefully on the Kitchen table, much to Mrs Weasley's annoyance. She had just finished scrubbing that down since lunch occurred hours ago. Feeling her eyes glaring into him like a thousand little senbon needles, Naruto chuckled nervously and hopped down from the table before answering Ginny's question.

"I always managed to forget the answer to this question, so I hope I get it right now. Er… Chakra is the physical energy that is within our bodies and also the spiritual energies we gain from doing vigorous exercise and through different experiences… and that's all I can remember. My friend Sakura knows more than I do on this." He said apologetically.

Sirius spoke up.

"So we all possess chakra?" He asked. Naruto nodded his head.

"Yeah, depending on what career path you choose. If you choose a life as a Ninja then your chakra is crucial for your work so you can mould your chakra to your will; if you choose to remain a civilian you lose the ability to mould chakra and just have a very small amount of chakra as you live your lives as normal. When a kunoichi is pregnant, her chakra is divided between herself and the baby so that the baby can grow. But I don't know how chakra works when you're a witch or wizard though." He explained.

"Is there another way of using your chakra?" Fred asked interested.

"Yeah, and is there a way we can learn how to walk on the ceiling?" echoed George who looked a little too eager to learn. Mr Weasley immediately pounced on them before they could overwhelm Naruto.

"I think that's enough boys!" Mr Weasley scolded disapprovingly. "Naruto, you don't have to show them if you don't wish to." He said smiling apologetically at him. Naruto shrugged.

"That's okay. I don't mind - but if you haven't been using your chakra constantly since the beginning of your Ninja studies it'd be hard to pick it up quickly." He explained. Fred and George looked disappointed, but everyone missed the clever little glint in Dumbledore's eyes.

It was clear that the Hogwarts Headmaster had something up his sleeves for his students this year - apart from Naruto's presence.

"Ready?" asked Naruto.

Everyone nodded before they watched Naruto start to arrange his hands into animal signs that were impossible to follow, much to the twins irritation.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto intoned and suddenly about ten Narutos appeared in the room shocking the small group completely.

"Wicked!" mumbled the twins grinning with glee as they walked over to a nearby Naruto clone and poked it in the shoulder.

"Hey quit it, that hurts!" It complained causing both of them to jump back in fright. Naruto giggled and dispelled the jutsu.

Sirius decided to move things along. As much as he was amused by all of this, the others needed to know about Naruto's secret so that the blonde ninja could have some closure and not worry that they would instantly reject him if they learned later on.

"What was the other part of your explanation, Dumbledore?" asked Sirius pointedly.

Dumbledore nodded, knowing that what he would say next would either be in Naruto's favour or against him once he finished his explanation since even he didn't fully understand when Tsunade explained it to him back in Konoha before they agreed Naruto would be perfect for the mission. Judging by the melancholy expression Dumbledore could see on Sirius' face, the story Naruto must have already told him didn't have a happy ending.

"Ah yes, thank you for reminding me, Sirius. The other proof in case you still needed convincing that Naruto is in fact a very real Ninja can be revealed to you by Naruto himself."

Naruto looked at Dumbledore in astonishment who stared at him imploringly. He nodded reluctantly.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" asked Hermione with concern.

Naruto took a seat at the Dining Table avoiding eye contact with everyone. Then the world's most hyperactive, unpredictable ninja told every willing ear in the room his secret - hoping it wouldn't backfire on him and cause him to be thoroughly alone during his mission.


	6. Meeting Your 'Assignment'

**Yet another chapter update coming your way!**

**What to expect in this chapter: the arrival of 'Order of the Phoenix' members and a tired irritated Harry; Harry and the OOTF members learn about Naruto; Everyone learns about Harry and Dumbledore being ridiculed by the Daily Prophet; and Harry and Naruto clash!**

**I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter - life's not always fair but you gotta deal with it…**

**Just as a precautionary measure - I had a hard time figuring out how to describe Kingsley without being politically incorrect, so I hope I don't offend readers who read this. If anyone knows the correct term, feel free to PM me or leave a review regarding it. Thanks ****:)**

**Constructive criticism as always is welcomed warmly, I don't like flames unless they are being specifically used to warm me up during a cold winter's night. Thanks xx**

* * *

**MEETING YOUR 'ASSIGNMENT'**

If there was one thing that Naruto hated above all things, it was being pitied. It served no purpose and made the individual feel worse about themselves, instead of feeling better.

For the majority of his life, Naruto had made lots of friends, made twice as many enemies, and ALL had pitied him because of how his life had turned out. After telling his story back in the Kitchen, Naruto immediately noticed the pity rising in their faces and he fled going into hiding in the one place that they would less likely find him: in Buckbeak's room.

He was curled up fast asleep against the magical creature's soft feathery body, and Buckbeak shielded him protectively sensing his distress and need to be isolated from everyone else the moment the blonde ninja came into the room and bowed to him respectfully. The sounds of somebody shouting in frustration roused Naruto from his slumber and startled Buckbeak who started squawking indignantly.

"Shhh, Buckbeak! It's alright, buddy." Naruto soothed as he rolled up the scrolls he had brought along with him to read while holed up in with Buckbeak.

He got to his feet and tiptoed towards the door opening it gingerly in case the shouting had stopped already and his footfalls alerted them to his presence. Naruto knew he was being petty; his new friends **had** accepted and not rejected him for being the host of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and were only being human and reacting the same way any one else would when confronted with a horrible story about somebody they believed had been and possibly was still being wrongfully treated.

He just did not like the feeling of being pitied.

He followed the shouts towards the bedroom where he, Ron and Harry (whom he assumed was the doing all the yelling had only just arrived) were going to be sleeping in. Naruto rolled his eyes, unimpressed with Harry's behaviour.

_Clearly this kid thinks he's been hard done by. Like he's the only person whose suffered a great hardship in his life. Well tough! He needs to swallow some concrete pills and harden the fuck up! _Naruto thought angrily.

Snorting, he stormed off down the corridor and headed for the staircase where he could sense numerous charka signatures inside the kitchen. Clearly, the meeting he had overheard Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley, Dumbledore and Sirius talking about was currently in full swing.

"Meow!"

Naruto glanced down at his feet and saw an overly fluffy ginger cat with a squished in face rubbing around his legs and starting to purr contentedly. He smiled softly and knelt down to scratch behind the affectionate cat's ears.

"Where'd you come from, little guy?" He asked the cat who merely blinked at him before licking Naruto's knuckles and trotting downstairs.

Suddenly, Naruto could sense Ron, Hermione and the others heading his way and using his ninja speed and chakra quickly suction-cupped himself to the roof. He wasn't ready to talk with his new friends just yet, maybe after they had gone downstairs for dinner and when the Order had left he would consider rejoining the others. He didn't need to wait very long before they suddenly came into view talking with a lanky bespectacled boy with jet black hair and green eyes that didn't quite come to par with Sakura's sharper Emerald ones.

_Hmm… so this is Harry Potter? _Thought Naruto curiously as he studied his target from above.

Naruto surmised that Harry was possibly the same height as he was, and he could see that he was fair skinned and wore clothes two sizes too big for his lanky frame: a loose smoky grey T-shirt with a black hoodie only half zipped up, very baggy blue jeans just barely held up with a worn looking leather belt and tatty sneakers. But the most interesting feature about Harry was the small, lightning bolt scar he had on his forehead.

_Wonder how he got that? _Naruto frowned before listening in to what his friends were currently talking about.

"Tonks told me that if you threw Dungbombs at a door with a shield charm cast upon it, the bombs will repel off it." Laughed Ginny as Hermione suddenly frowned with concern and looked around worriedly.

"I wonder where Naruto's gone off to?"

Naruto felt his eyes widen with surprise. He didn't think he'd be the topic of conversation right now. Harry looked curious.

"Who's Naruto?" He asked.

Immediately, everyone looked uncomfortable which caused Harry to suddenly look irritated.

"What? Is this something else you're going to keep from me too?" He growled resentfully, causing Naruto to bristle at how sulky Harry sounded.

Just because he was having a shit day didn't mean he'd…

"No, it's not that. Naruto's a friend of Dumbledore's. He had told us a sad story today at lunch about himself that he must be really ashamed of, because he retreated after telling us. We're just wondering where he was. That's all." Hermione explained sounding like she also was getting annoyed with Harry's attitude - she was just polite enough to be patient with him.

Harry's frown didn't disappear entirely, but he nodded as both Ron and Ginny agreed with Hermione, also looking concerned about where Naruto was. Little did they know that he was currently dangling above their heads listening to their every word.

"I wish I could hear what they're saying." Ron complained as he slumped against the banister grunting in annoyance. Everyone else agreed until something flesh coloured was thrust in front of their faces. Hermione wrinkled her nose with distaste as she stared down at the string.

Naruto silently agreed with her.

"What on Earth is this?" she asked taking the flesh coloured string from Fred who had a shit-eating grin on his face as he finished passing around similar strings to Ron, Ginny and Harry.

"Extended Ears." said George holding up the string with one hand which turned out to be extremely long and attached a realistic looking human ear.

"How does it work?" asked Harry holding the string between two fingers like it was contaminated.

"It's easy, you just insert the string into your ear. Like this…." and then Fred and George poked the end of the flesh coloured string into their ears, causing Naruto to forcibly restrain himself from spewing up.

_Oh Kami-sama, that's disgusting… _He thought revolted.

He was thankful that because he had Kyuubi concealed within him that he had enhanced hearing and didn't need to shove something in his ear canal to eavesdrop on a private meeting. And Naruto had been told _he_ was nosy. Looking at each other hesitantly; Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny gingerly inserted their flesh coloured string into their ears, shuddering at how gross it felt.

Almost instantly, they could hear everything that was going on in the Kitchen. Naruto frowned disapprovingly, but listened in on the conversation he could hear too:

"…He's not James, Sirius!" Naruto heard Mrs Weasley saying sharply to Sirius who sighed exasperatedly.

_Who's James? _Naruto wondered as Sirius' deep voice entered the conversation sounding tired and like they had already been over this conversation over and over again.

"He's not your son." He retorted quietly to Mrs Weasley who tsked impatiently like the mother she was.

"He's as good as." She said as Naruto looked down at his friends and noticed Ron who was grinning proudly and elbowing an embarrassed looking Harry in the side causing him to grunt and smiled slightly at him before concentrating on the conversation.

"Besides, who else has he got?" Mrs Weasley pointed out.

"He's got me." stated Sirius causing Naruto to frown in confusion. What exactly was Harry's relationship with Sirius? His uncle? Then suddenly a male's voice sounding as smooth as silk entered the conversation sounding like he wanted to be anywhere but here in this house having this conversation.

"How touchingly paternal, Black, perhaps Potter will grow up to become a felon just like his Godfather?"

Naruto's eyebrow rose. This man reminded him strangely of Orochimaru and he shuddered at the very thought. But another thing nagged at him.

_Sirius is a criminal? _

Sirius growled with annoyance.

"You stay out of this, Snivellus." He venomously, clearly just as displeased as this unknown man was that he was here in the first place.

"Snape's apart of the Order?" asked Harry sounding sceptical. Everyone nodded looking displeased.

"Git." Ron spat as they continued listening in to what was left of the conversation.

However, none of them got the chance to learn what else was being discussed as something or someone started tugging on the Extendable Ears. All eyes glanced down at the landing and gasped in horror. All except Naruto who had to detach one of his hands from the ceiling and clamp it over his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. The cat that had been rubbing itself around his legs from before was now playfully attacking the Extendable Ears with its claws and its teeth.

Panicking, the boys, Ginny and Hermione started trying to shoo the mischievous cat away from the ear.

"Shoo!"

"Get out of here, you stupid cat!"

"No, Crookshanks! Leave it alone!" said Hermione, who obviously owned the ginger cat.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on who's opinion you wanna take) the Ear was ripped free from the flesh coloured string and Crookshanks, looking pleased with himself, took the ear and ran off much to everyone's chagrin.

"Hermione, I hate your cat." Ron muttered as Hermione rolled her eyes before scolding her cat.

"Bad, Crookshanks! Bad!"

Fred and George started reeling up the flesh coloured strings before George stored it in his pocket whilst scowling at Hermione who looked embarrassed. At that same moment, the door to the Kitchen opened and one by one the Order members started to leave.

Taking this as a sign that they were allowed to come back down the stairs, Harry and the others descended the stairs. Once nearly all had disappeared from view, Naruto detached himself from the ceiling and landed catlike on the carpeted hallway and straightened up before making his way down the staircase listening in on the conversation taking place on the ground floor.

Looking over the banister, Naruto saw a smiling Harry approaching Mrs Weasley who fixed him with a fond smile.

"Well, the meeting's over, just…OH!" Mrs Weasley cut herself off as Fred and George suddenly appeared either side of her with the same loud popping noise, scaring the hell out of her like they had been for the past few days.

Naruto smirked. He couldn't wait to learn how to do that - it would be so easy to do that to Tsunade and anybody else he felt like scaring the crap out of back in Konoha just to stir the pot. It would be sweet! He cringed as she started yelling at Fred and George who sniggered and disappeared down the corridor away from their fuming mother.

"Just because you're allowed to use your magic now DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY LITTLE THING!" She growled.

Naruto snorted with laughter at the unintended innuendo Mrs Weasley had unintentionally spoken as she softened her gaze and continued saying what she was speak to Harry about before the Twins interrupted her.

"You hungry, Harry?" She asked kindly.

Harry nodded just as Mr Weasley put a hand on his shoulder smiling warmly at him.

"You sure you're alright, Harry? You gave us quite a turn…."

"Harry Potter."

Mr Weasley's smile dropped slightly as he stepped aside to let a grinning Sirius past. Naruto watched as Harry's pensive face instantly lit up when Sirius came into view.

"Sirius!" and he practically glomped the older man as they embraced each other in an affectionate 'man hug'.

"Huh-ho!" Sirius laughed as he returned Harry's hug happily.

Naruto smiled sadly as he continued his descent downstairs. Sirius was still hugging Harry but the time Naruto's foot hit the bottom step and Mrs Weasley instantly lit up like a torch when she noticed Naruto.

"Oh Naruto, dear! Thank goodness - are you feeling better, sweetheart?" she asked with concern coming over and placing the back of her hand on his forehead to feel his temperature.

Harry let go of Sirius who was also smiling warmly at Naruto and turned to face the melancholy ninja, looking him up and down curiously. Naruto felt tears welling up in his eyes at this woman's kindness and concern that for the first time was directed towards him and smiled softly at her before nodding.

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry about before - I'm just a little sensitive about that subject. I hope I didn't offend any of you." He asked hopefully.

Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley and Sirius all had sober expressions on their faces, while Harry looked confused about why everyone was hugging Naruto like they had known him all their lives; and Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the Twins all smiled at Naruto looking sympathetic, eager to start a well-deserved friendship with the lonely blonde ninja and help him in any way they could with his mission to protect their friend.

"Of course not! What you've gone through sounds absolutely horrendous." said Mrs Weasley wrapping her generous arms around Naruto and giving him a hug. Sirius clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"No one deserved what happened to you. Do not believe that for one second!" He said firmly causing Naruto to wipe his eyes and return the hug Mrs Weasley was giving him.

"Thanks." He said sincerely, then grunted when he felt somebody soft collide with his back and hug him tightly with arms wrapped around him.

"We'll be here for you, Naruto." said Hermione sincerely as Ron strode over and punched his shoulder affectionately, Ginny smiled shyly at him and Fred and George gave him a noogie.

That was when Harry decided to speak up.

"What's going on here?" He asked. Naruto pulled away from Hermione's embrace so he could properly address Harry.

"Sorry, I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" He said grinning like a fox once again and proffering his hand for Harry to shake. Harry took the hand cautiously, pumping it up and down as he stared at Naruto curiously.

"So I gathered. I'm Harry Potter."

Naruto could sense the suspicion rolling off of his target in waves as he took back his hand and scratched the back of his head feeling awkward.

"So are you going to tell me what everyone is talking about?" Naruto's grin faded slightly as he fixed Harry with a serious expression.

"I'll explain later on back in our room." He promised before instantly shifting emotions.

"Right now, I'm starved. Let's go!" He announced, grabbing Harry's wrist and dragged him along for the ride as he barrelled into the Kitchen. Their amused friends trailing after them.

* * *

The entire Kitchen was filled with chatter and laughter, courtesy of a young looking witch named Tonks whose hair shifted into different colours every few seconds. Naruto liked her instantly, and she him judging by the wink she sent him when he was introduced to her. Tonks had spunk, she was funny and she was cute - not exactly Naruto's type, but he didn't mind the occasional eye candy every now and then. Particularly, the types who liked wearing mini-skirts underneath her cloaks.

Naruto was sitting across from her watching as she was currently shifting her face into that of a purple haired duck's making Hermione, Ginny and himself laugh. Apparently, this was a regular form of entertainment that had happened long before Naruto had arrived that day with Dumbledore. Naruto glanced around the Kitchen to see what his other friends were doing:

Harry was having an animated conversation with both Sirius and a tired looking young man whom both Harry and Sirius named Remus (or Lupin in Harry's case). Naruto was amused to discover Tonks sneaking furtive glances at Lupin occasionally while having a conversation with and amusing Hermione and Ginny who requested different faces for Tonks to turn into every now and then. Lupin reminded Naruto strongly of Iruka-sensei because of his gentle nature, how friendly his eyes looked and his politeness when he was first introduced to him.

Ron was having a conversation with his brothers that revolved around something that Fred and George were experimenting with and planning on testing on students at Hogwarts this year, a fact that made Naruto frown disapprovingly at. Mrs Weasley was busy cooking dinner, but casting fond glances at everybody at the table chatting amongst themselves, and Mr Weasley was having a somewhat serious looking conversation with a man named Kingsley who had a dark pigment to his skin and was wearing strange coloured robes that indicated that he also came from a different country like Naruto. He worked at the Ministry of Magic with Mr Weasley. Both were sharing the conversation with a man with a revolving blue eye that seemed to be permanently glued on Naruto, causing the blonde ninja to squirm with discomfort, and who had a peg leg. Everyone called the scary man Moody.

It was explained to Naruto upon introduction that Moody was an ex-Auror who hunted dark witches and wizards and if it was possible took them into custody. Kind of like what Naruto was going to be doing this year at Hogwarts only on a greater scale. Eventually, all conversations came to a stop and melded into a singular one that was orchestrated by all the Adults who focused completely on Harry. Mr Weasley seemed troubled by something Kingsley had just told him regarding Harry's hearing.

"It's really very peculiar. It seems that your hearing at the ministry is to be before the entire Wizengamot." He announced causing everyone except Naruto to frown in astonishment. Clearly, this was unusual.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I don't understand. What has the Ministry of Magic got against me?" He asked his voice filling with concern. All the adults hesitated for a second, causing the suspicion Naruto could feel rise like magma in his stomach.

Moody grunted.

"Show him. He'll find out soon enough." He said as Kingsley reluctantly pulled today's copy of the Daily Prophet out and shook it open.

Naruto's eyes zeroed in on the newspaper and he felt himself bristle at what he saw. On the front page of the newspaper Naruto could see the moving head and shoulder image of Harry himself staring up from out of the photo that continuously switched between a moving image of a pompous looking middle-aged man dressed in wizarding robes and a bowler hat standing and staring confidently and superiorly out of the photo. In big bolding letters was a revolving headline that stated: **THE BOY WHO LIES? **and **FUDGE: "All is Well." **

"That dude looks hard to take seriously..." muttered Naruto half expecting to be reprimanded for being rude, but was surprised when nobody moved to correct him. He glanced over at Harry who was looking at the newspaper with a bewildered expression on his face. Sirius surveyed him with a sad expression on his slightly gaunt face.

"He's been attacking Dumbledore, as well. Fudge is using all his powers, including his influence at the Daily Prophet, to smear anyone who claims the Dark Lord has returned." He said seriously.

Naruto assumed that the Dark Lord had to be Voldemort for this complete garbage to have been posted in a newspaper. Harry seemed to agree with his thoughts. He glanced at Sirius with hurt and confusion on his face.

"Why?"

"The Minister thinks Dumbledore is after his job." Lupin answered causing Harry to frown incredulously.

"But that's insane! No one in their right mind would believe that Dumbledore…"

"Exactly the point-" Lupin interrupted Harry, "Fudge isn't in his right mind. It's been twisted and warped by fear. Now fear makes people do terrible things, Harry." said Lupin trying to help Harry understand, and unknown to him of course, helping Naruto understand since he would be the one who would be protecting Harry from now on.

"Now, the last time Voldemort gained power he almost destroyed everything we hold most dear. Now he's returned, and I'm afraid the Minister will do almost anything to avoid facing the terrifying truth." He said causing the younger witches and wizards at the table to pale at the very thought.

Except for Harry, who knew all too well what Voldemort was capable of, having managed to narrowly evade him several times by now, and Naruto who although hadn't even met Voldemort, had been involved in life threatening situations similar to what they were describing and knew exactly where Lupin was coming from. The Third and even Tsunade had worked tirelessly to ensure similar situations never occurred within Konoha on several occasions. But certainly not as drastic as pretending that everything was sunshine and daisies when it clearly wasn't, and that if they closed their eyes, stuffed their fingers in their ears and started singing _"Row, Row, Row your Boat"_ at the top of their lungs that the situation would automatically disappear and they wouldn't have to deal with it.

It was just idiotic.

"We think Voldemort wants to build up his army again." said Sirius drawing Naruto's undivided attention. "Fourteen years ago he had huge numbers at his command – not just witches and wizards, but all manner of Dark creatures." He continued.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. _Like rogue ninjas perhaps? _

Mrs Weasley stopped chopping up vegetables for the dinner she was preparing for everyone and narrowed her eyes sternly at Sirius, who ignored her completely.

"He's been recruiting heavily," Sirius subtly stared pointedly at Naruto who just as subtly nodded back, understanding that Sirius was simultaneous giving him the information he needed for his mission, while at the same time explaining to Harry what he had missed out on during his summer, "And we've been attempting to do the same, but gathering followers isn't the only thing he's interested in…"

All the adults tensed up, causing Naruto to deepen his narrowed eyes as he assumed that they didn't want Sirius to reveal too much thinking that it could freak out Harry, not to mention the other younger witches and wizards sitting at the table with them.

"Ahem…" Mr Weasley cleared his throat loudly trying to signal to Sirius not to say anything else, Naruto privately wished that he'd continue talking - all this information was gold! His wish was granted, much to his delight.

"We believe Voldemort may be after something…."

"Sirius…" Moody warned, but Sirius soldiered on and continued his explanation stubbornly.

"…Something he didn't have last time…" He finished pleased that both Naruto and Harry were hanging off his every word. Harry ventured a question.

"You mean, like a weapon?" But before Sirius could answer his query, Mrs Weasley intervened, much to Naruto's frustration.

"No. That's enough. He's just a boy! You say much more and you might as well induct him into the Order straightaway." She stated firmly. But the damage was done.

"Good! I want to join. If Voldemort's raising an army, then I want to fight!" Harry stated stubbornly, much to Mrs Weasley's dismay. Naruto grinned sinisterly.

_Get in line… _

Sirius winked happily at his Godson, feeling incredibly proud of his best friend's son. Naruto decided to voice his opinion as well.

"If Harry's gonna join, sign me up too! After all, it is part of my job!" He announced, causing Mrs Weasley to look at him half imploringly and astounded. Sirius grinned enthusiastically - to him, it was like Christmas had come early.

"Good! The more the merrier."

However not everybody was as enthusiastic as Sirius was. Lupin, Moody, Kingsley and Tonks looked at Naruto like he had suddenly sprouted a second head out of his neck, Harry frowned suspiciously at him.

"What do you mean _'it is part of my job too?' _What job are you talking about?" He demanded. "Does it have anything to do with what you're gonna be 'explaining' to me later on tonight?"

Naruto's trademark grin disappeared instantly.

"Yes, do explain yourself!" Moody growled - his magical eye still fixed upon Naruto. Naruto gulped and stared around at the people who already knew his reason for being here. They all shrugged with 'you're on your own' expressions. Naruto glared, but knew that it was his own fault for opening his own big mouth and moved to explain himself like Moody requested.

"I've been assigned by Dumbledore to be Harry's bodyguard at Hogwarts this year for the reasons Sirius has just revealed to you, Harry." He explained to a gob smacked Harry who immediately looked angry. "Only, that wasn't the only reason I was requested for the job. Apparently, you-know-who…"

"Just call him by his name, Naruto." said Sirius impatiently. Apparently the fear of Voldemort's name being uttered out loud was growing tiresome for him.

Naruto agreed. "Alright then, _Voldemort _has recruited somebody our age into his ranks to go and enrol into Hogwarts this year too to try and assassinate Harry. I'm supposed to find the culprit, identify exactly who he or she is, and if it's possible eliminate them." said Naruto using professional tones.

Harry looked both incredulous and outraged.

"But how can _you_ eliminate an assassin and protect Harry? You look like you're barely 15 yourself. You're just a child!" Lupin protested.

"Dumbledore couldn't possibly be this irresponsible to send in a _child _to protect Harry without getting killed himself." added Tonks looking horrified. Naruto felt insulted, but realised he forgot to mention exactly what he was. Grinning sheepishly, he answered Lupin's question.

"Where I come from, I'm considered to be an adult because of what I do." He admitted.

"And what exactly do you do?" spat Harry acidly.

Naruto glared at him, he was getting sick of Harry's bipolar attitude.

"A Ninja - a highly _trained_ assassin." He retorted. "And you don't have to be a Teme about it either. It's just lucky, that I happen to like your friends and don't particularly wish to see their anguished faces if you get killed that I'm still here, otherwise I'd scrap this mission altogether and high-tail it home!" He growled.

"What does 'Teme' mean?" asked Ginny quietly. Mr Weasley was about to quietly explain how inappropriate that question was at this time before Naruto turned to her and politely explained.

"It means 'bastard' in Japanese." He said before turning back to a slightly ashamed but still very angry looking Harry.

Naruto was reluctant to look over at Sirius, fearful for what expression he might see on there because he was technically yelling at somebody Sirius clearly cared deeply for. Risking it, Naruto turned his head slightly towards Sirius expecting to see him glaring disgustedly at him, but was surprised to see the disgusted expression directed towards Harry, not him. Even more surprising was the same expression was mirrored on Lupin's face as well as Mrs Weasley.

Suddenly, Naruto decided that he wasn't hungry anymore and wanted to be alone again. He rose from his seat, grabbing everyone's attention.

"I'm not feeling very well. I think I'm gonna go to bed." He decided before turning and leaving the room, but not before being intercepted by Mrs Weasley and Hermione out in the hallway.

"Please Naruto, stay for dinner. I'm sure Harry didn't mean to be so rude." Mrs Weasley whispered imploringly. Naruto shook his head, sadly.

"I don't think I will tonight, Weasley-san, Hermione-chan. Clearly, Harry isn't eaxctly happy about what Dumbledore has requested me to do for him. I'll definitely have breakfast with you both tomorrow morning, but for now I'll just go to bed." He said sounding defeated.

Mrs Weasley looked hesitant to agree with him and Hermione looked thoroughly ashamed with Harry's behaviour and disappointed with what had just transpired. It was clear she was the peacemaker among Harry's closest friends.

"Are you sure? We could save you a plate." Hermione suggested.

Naruto shook his head.

"Nah, I'm okay. Thanks anyway." He pecked Mrs Weasley on the cheek for her kindness and cupped Hermione's cheek before walking sadly back up the stairs towards the room he shared with Ron and unfortunately at the moment, Harry.

_Things better get better during this mission or I'm going to have a few issues with my innocent… _Naruto thought miserably as he finally got to his room and collapsed face first onto his cot, falling asleep instantly.


	7. New Bond

**Wow! A lot of people have read and visited 'Words I'll Never Say'. That is so cool! Thanks for taking time out to read my story, I really appreciate it :D**

**What to expect from this chapter: Harry seeking out and apologising to Naruto after being lectured by Sirius and his friends; Harry and Naruto sharing their sad pasts with each other, including the most important people involved - forging a new friendship together.**

**This chapter update was partly inspired by Green Day's song '21 Guns' - look it up and listen to it, it's really good! **

**I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter - they belong to their respective owners (the lucky bastards ****L****), and I don't own Green Day's song _'21 Guns' _- a very inspirational song. As always my dears, constructive criticism is appreciated and flames are not welcomed. Thanks for your consideration xx**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO!**

* * *

**NEW BONDS**

"_Do you know what's worth fighting for? When it's not worth dying for? Does it take your breath away, and you feel yourself suffocating? "_

* * *

The very air within the Kitchen became icy the moment Mrs Weasley and Hermione left the room in search for Naruto. Harry cringed uncomfortably as several glares started digging into him like knives. He avoided eye contact with everyone - deeming it a safer alternative as he sorted out his thoughts.

Outwardly, Harry felt resentful and angry that Dumbledore of all people would go out of his way to hire somebody who clearly was the same age as him as a personal bodyguard, and the fact that his friends obviously agreed made it all the more worse. Harry reckoned that if he had managed to narrowly escape death at the hands of Lord Voldemort several times already, then he should be able to take care of himself without involving a complete stranger into his life and death crisis. He was still grieving the loss of his friend, Cedric Diggory the year before when he was killed unnecessarily by Wormtail, Voldemort's twitchy, anxious servant using Voldemort's wand. The death was still a sore subject with Harry and he got easily snappish when questioned about what really happened that night by either friends or casual acquaintances both in Hogwarts and out.

Inwardly, Harry was confused about where all of his corrosive anger was coming from. He knew for a fact that Naruto didn't deserve what Harry had said to him. So why did he lash out like that? Sure he was annoyed, but people who were annoyed didn't insult another person's profession. Naruto was just doing his job - a job that Harry was sceptical about.

_Ninja? I thought they didn't exist? Or if I'm mistaken and they do, they're probably just cheesy marshal-arts knockoffs or some Jackie Chan wannabes… _A disappointed face darted into his view and he immediately straightened wearing an stoic expression on his face. It was Lupin who had gotten up from his seat to sit across from Harry to talk with him properly.

"Would you care to explain yourself please, Harry? What you said before was not like you at all." stated Lupin sternly. Ron nodded.

"Yeah Harry, that was kinda harsh - Naruto isn't Malfoy you know." He added with a mystified tone in his voice.

"I know that. I just don't know where that anger came from - Naruto doesn't seem like a bad person, a little annoying maybe and slightly obnoxious but so can many people." Harry admitted.

"Nevertheless, you were unnecessarily rude to that poor boy." Mrs Weasley stated as she walked back into the Kitchen with an upset looking Hermione who refused to look over at Harry. Clearly, Naruto meant something to them in the short time he had been here if they was reacting this way. Sirius laced his fingers together and balanced his chin on them as he peered over at Harry solemnly.

"Naruto is quite right, Harry. He doesn't technically _have_ to be here protecting you from Voldemort - and he is justified in saying that if you were killed prematurely at Voldemort's hands that everyone sitting in this room would be inconsolable if you were to die." Sirius stated. "He and I spoke with each other yesterday, about why he was here - and I must say that he has suffered similar circumstances that you had in _his_ life." He said seriously.

Harry glanced around the room at his friends to see if Sirius was telling him the truth or just generally trying to make him feel worse than he already did, and was shocked when he saw all the straight faces.

"So somebody put those scars on Naruto's face?" Harry questioned suddenly feeling sick if what he suspected was true: some psycho kidnapped Naruto when he was younger, held him hostage for an unspecified length of time and tortured him by cutting six deep cuts into his cheeks with a knife or scalpel.

Maybe that loud, obnoxious and hyperactive behaviour Naruto exuberated was an elaborate front to hide behind what he was really feeling. Harry shuddered at the very thought that Naruto might've been put underneath that sort of trauma. At least _his _scar had been created by an evil curse, and he couldn't remember if it hurt him or not since he had only been one at the time and could only remember seeing a blinding flash of green light and Voldemort's high cruel laughter.

Everyone who knew hesitated.

"Yes and no. But it's best that Naruto explains that to you. It's kinda complicated." Ginny answered.

"But the point is, Harry - Dumbledore clearly asked for Naruto's help because there is a strong chance that whatever happens this year might be more than you can handle. Even if you have Ron, Hermione or anyone else's help. Who ever was sent to take you out must be accomplished at their job, and I commend Dumbledore for hiring someone who knew what they were doing." said Lupin.

Harry nodded realising that they all had good points and that sometimes he did need help. So he decided to apologise to Naruto the next time he saw him.

* * *

"_Does the pain weigh out the pride? And you look for a place to hide? Did someone break your heart inside, you're in ruins…"_

* * *

Dinner was finished and Harry and his friends were told by Mrs Weasley that the next day they would start 'spring cleaning' Sirius' house from top to bottom. All that was left to do as far as everyone was concerned, was Harry to make peace with Naruto, who was currently fast asleep in Harry, Ron and his shared room. Because of the circumstances, Ron was going to temporarily sleep in Fred and George's room for the night while Harry and Naruto talked.

"Well, night dear. Don't stay up too long." Mrs Weasley made Harry promise her.

"Thanks Mrs Weasley. Goodnight." and disappeared into the tiny, dusty bedroom - hoping that his plans to apologise to Naruto wouldn't blow up in his face. The room was dimly lit with a warm orange-yellow ambiance that came from a nearby lamp which reflected upon the still figure of Naruto lying motionless on his cot, snoring softly. Harry sighed to himself before sitting down on his cot, which squeaked slightly underneath his weight and caused Naruto to stir from his sleep and blink at Harry.

"Take a picture, It'll last longer…" Naruto drawled as he rolled over onto his back and fixed a sheepish Harry with a hurt glare. Sleeping obviously hadn't erased Naruto's memory of what had happened hours ago back in the Kitchen, much to Harry's dismay.

_But then again, I probably would hold a grudge too if somebody had a go at me for no reason… _

As Harry started figuring out how to apologise properly to Naruto, said blonde bitingly called out.

"Is there something you need, or are you looking for a punching bag to attack?" Harry winced.

"I guess I deserved that…" He figured.

Naruto pulled a face. "You think?"

The jinchuuriki swung his legs over the side of the cot and sat there briefly, swiping his hand over his face to clear away the sleep. Then he rose to his feet and thudded noisily towards the door.

"Uh? Where you going?" He asked, hoping the question wasn't too nosy. Naruto yawned again as he answered.

"To pee. Anything else you need to know?" Harry scowled but held his tongue as he moved to ask his second question, hoping Naruto would listen and agree.

"When you come back, I need to talk to you. Would you mind?" He asked hopefully. Naruto considered this before shrugging and opening the door.

"Yeah, yeah. Be right back…" and disappeared for five minutes before returning and thudding down on his cot facing the ceiling.

"Alright, what did you wanna talk to me about?" Naruto asked getting straight to the point because he wanted to go back to sleep.

If he was going to be helping everyone else clean up this house, he needed all the sleep he could get. Didn't necessarily mean that he wouldn't be grumpy in the morning when he awoke. It was a good thing Kakashi-sensei wasn't on this mission with him, otherwise they'd be waiting for at least an hour before they would get started with the cleaning.

"Actually, I just wanted to apologise for being such a dick. I have no idea why I suddenly got angry and lashed out at you, but it was no excuse and I'm sorry." Harry mumbled feeling guilty. Naruto turned to his side to look Harry in the eye - searching for sincerity before grinning.

"Apology accepted. Is that all you wanted to talk to me about or…?"

Harry was astonished - he didn't realise it wouldn't take him long for Naruto to accept his rather lame apology. The blonde was either a little too naïve and forgiving for his own good, or just really, really stupid.

Harry was hoping for the former.

"Sirius told me that you had a similar childhood to mine growing up. Is that true?" Harry asked curiously. Naruto froze before looking over at him grimly.

"Yes." He admitted, wondering where Harry was going with this conversation. Harry swallowed unhappily.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked cautiously. Naruto flinched.

"Not really. But since everybody else already knows about it, I s'pose you should be filled in as well." He reluctantly agreed. "However… could we do this tomorrow? I'm really tired and I don't really care at the moment." Naruto whined pitifully, causing Harry to roll his eyes but smiled as he nodded.

Naruto grinned.

"Yosh! Talk to you later then, Harry!" He chirped before rolling over and falling back to sleep. Harry blinked with confusion before slowly pulling back his doona and sliding between it and the cot before taking off his glasses and replacing them on his nightstand and falling asleep to the sounds of Naruto's light snoring.

The dreams that night were not Harry's friends – images of the newly returned Voldemort in all his vile glory smirking evilly, pointing his wand at an unfortunate victim and the sounds of petrified screaming that echoed repetitively. Harry also glimpsed images of a dark, corridor filled with archways. Its walls and ceilings were lined with glossy black tiles and the floor was a burnished and black and teal colour. At the very end of the corridor was a large blue door with a big brass knob – that to Harry screamed danger.

But before he could reach out a hand and grasp the doorknob, Harry woke up.

He could hear himself panting and his skin was damp with a cold sweat. He sat up with eyes darting about the room searching for intruders and potentially volatile witches and wizards. He felt extremely vulnerable and frightened as though expecting somebody to jump out of the shadows and attack him without warning.

"You have nightmares too, huh?"

Harry looked towards the owner of the sympathetic voice and saw Naruto sitting up in bed, balancing on his elbows.

"How do you know that?" asked Harry in bewilderment. Naruto smiled sadly and leaned against his headboard giving Harry his full attention as the dark-haired boy waited for Naruto to elaborate.

"I know the signs. I got them all the time when I was younger - so much so that I couldn't sleep at night fearing that they might be real. Wasn't until I gained some friends that they started going away." said Naruto looking a little sad. "I do still get them occasionally when something is really bugging me or if something bad is going to happen though." The blonde added as Harry studied him curiously, trying to decide whether he should tell him about the dream - after all he was his bodyguard.

"Do you wanna talk about it? Sometimes it helps." Naruto suggested patting the space across from him, inviting Harry to sit there. Harry's eyes widened in shock. Was Naruto a mind reader too?

"Okay, that'd be great. Thanks." said Harry shaken a little and got out of his bed to sit across from Naruto who grinned slightly. However, the moment Harry sat down on the faded quilt he couldn't help but focus on Naruto's whisker-like scars.

He frowned contemplatively.

"Uh… just wondering. How did you get those scars on your cheeks?" Harry asked cautiously in case Naruto got defensive.

The blonde ninja winced slightly, but realised that this conversation was going to occur sooner or later. He glanced over to the window and judged that it was at least six in the morning - about the time he'd be getting up in Konoha for a typical mission anyway - which technically, this was. His mission to protect Harry had started the moment Harry stepped through the threshold.

"Uh…these are birthmarks. I was born with them." He answered scratching his unruly hair awkwardly. Harry's eyebrows shot into his hairline.

"Those are some weird birthmarks…" He commented his hand automatically reaching out to the touch them without him noticing. He had almost touched Naruto's cheek before suddenly realised what he was doing and stopped himself just in time.

"Sorry." He muttered before pulling back his arm and turning away with embarrassment. Naruto chuckled in amusement before quickly grabbing Harry's wrist and guiding it to his cheek.

"It's alright. I don't mind as long as people ask me first."

Harry slowly moved his fingers gently across each 'scar' on Naruto's cheek. The scars felt remarkably soft underneath his fingertips. Kind of like what a cat's fur would feel like if you carded your fingers through it: silky smooth.

"How did you get _your_ scar?" Naruto asked Harry who immediately retracted his hand from Naruto's cheek and placed it over his lightning bolt scar and felt his heart constricting painfully at the memory. Naruto's frowned at his reaction.

"Voldemort gave it to me, the night he killed my parents." Naruto's eyes widened in horror and felt sorry for Harry as he recognised the pain and suffering reflected within the green eyes.

Iruka-sensei and the Third Hokage had once told him that his own blue eyes had once held an empty, emotionless look in them that told anybody who cared about him that he had suffered, and suffered badly. Naruto was convinced that he could see the same emotions reflected in Harry's eyes - the only difference was that Harry had friends who could help him. Naruto didn't have any friends until he first started out as a Genin in Team Seven and even then it took awhile for them to actually take him seriously, since Naruto had a reputation of being a prankster and for being annoying and stupid - which earned him the title of 'dead last' in his class, or 'dobe' by Sasuke, his mysterious teammate. What Naruto didn't know was that 'dobe' was Sasuke's pet name for him.

Harry sighed sadly.

"I spent most of my life living with my Aunt, Uncle and my cousin Dudley. If you could call it living - they never wanted to take me in, they just treated me like I was a burden until the day I got my Hogwarts letter. That was the happiest moment I had ever had when I discovered that I was a wizard, aside from getting my first glimpse of the Castle, learning all about magic and meeting Ron and Hermione. If it weren't for them, I probably would've gone nuts from the loneliness."

Naruto hummed understandingly.

"I don't remember my parents. They both died when I was born." Naruto admitted, making Harry realise how almost realistic their separate lives were.

"Do you know how they died?"

Naruto shrugged. "No idea. The Third Hokage in my village told me, that on the night I was born was when the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, Kyuubi attacked the Village. My parents must have been killed during the attack." He replied sadly. "But nobody knew the reason why Kyuubi had invaded Konoha in the first place."

"Kyuubi?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah, the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon. That's why I've got these scars on my cheeks." He said pointing towards his face.

Harry looked surprised. "Let me get this straight, you're the Fox Demon?"

Naruto pulled an insulted face as Kyuubi growled at the same time agreeing with Naruto.

"No! I'm nothing like that overgrown orange fur ball, thanks very much!" Naruto corrected Harry who looked extremely confused while Kyuubi complained about being labelled as an 'overgrown orange fur ball.'

"Then why do you have those scars?" He asked sounding exasperated. Naruto sighed and borrowed Shikamaru's favourite phrase 'troublesome' to describe how much this conversation was wearing on him and how much he wished he didn't have to explain this to Harry.

"The Fourth Hokage was in charge of protecting Konoha at the time of my birth. The tricky part at the time was that Kyuubi cannot be killed, so the Fourth did the only thing he could think of to save the village. Seal it within the body of a newborn child. And not just any newborn child - one that has just had its umbilical cord cut."

There was silence for several seconds.

"You're that baby?" Harry whispered, sounding as horrified as Sirius did when Naruto explained that story to him. Naruto nodded solemnly.

"When did you find out?"

"I was on mission with my teammates and we got into a fight with a Rogue Ninja and his Apprentice. Sasuke, my best friend, he and I were fighting against Haku - the apprentice when I was knocked to the ground. Haku aimed some senbon needles at me, and Sasuke intercepted them and got impaled with them instead." He said, letting the memories of that day pass through his head like a slideshow. "Sasuke was knocked unconscious, but at the time I thought Haku had killed him." Naruto laughed humourlessly before continuing. "I remembered experiencing extreme shock, then numbness. Then all of a sudden, all I could feel was blind anger building within me. It felt so cruel, unyielding and tempting, and all I wanted was blood and death."

Naruto closed his eyes and for a second he could see Haku's pleading face standing before him with the cracked glass mirrors reflecting behind him.

"Next thing I knew, was hearing Haku asking me to kill him. That was when I came back to my senses - Kakashi-sensei, my mentor later explained to me that I had re-awoken Kyuubi the moment I convinced myself that my precious person had been killed."

Harry was stunned, he couldn't imagine experiencing something like that. If it had been Ron, Hermione or even Sirius who had been killed, he probably would do something worse.

"What's a precious person?" Harry asked. Naruto blinked, how was he going to explain this?

"A precious person is somebody who means something to you. Somebody who probably has had an impact on your life in one way or another." He explained. Harry put two and two together.

_This Sasuke? Is he Naruto's precious person? _

Harry took a moment to absorb the information Naruto had just given him. But there were some things that he had said that were completely strange to Harry's ears.

"What are Rogue Ninjas and senbon needles?" Harry asked his curiosity was making Naruto extremely amused, and very relieved that Harry too hadn't rejected him - if all of these questions had anything to do with it.

"Rogue Ninjas are ninjas who had defected from their Villages for different reasons and have been labelled as 'traitors' by their villages." Naruto paused again before deciding to tell Harry. "Sasuke became one three years ago."

"Sorry, that's gotta be hard for you." Harry guessed. Naruto nodded before answering Harry's second question. The wizard recognised the subject was a sore one and realised that Naruto was brushing that aside not wishing to talk about it.

"Senbon needles are a weapon - looks like an ordinary sewing needle, but is used to immobilise our targets by making our body parts go numb. Sometimes they can be used to kill if you aim for a pressure point that could cause instant death. The more dangerous ninjas like to coat their senbons with poison."

Harry nodded.

"Is there a chance you can you show me Kyuubi?" asked Harry curiously. Naruto's mouth dropped open in shock.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Harry." He said, but Kyuubi suddenly spoke in his ear, as though he was sitting right beside him. He started speaking out loud with the Fox.

"You can't be serious."

Harry raised an eyebrow, Naruto was talking to thin air.

"Do you want to traumatise him?" Naruto growled protectively. "Alright then."

Naruto then returned his attention towards Harry who frowned questioningly at him.

"Harry this is Kyuubi." then the blonde ninja bowed his head like he had suddenly drifted back to sleep. Harry groaned with annoyance, thinking that was exactly what he had done and leaned over to poke the 'sleeping' ninja awake.

"Where?" asked the confused wizard, finger outstretched to poke Naruto's shoulder.

**"Right here, brat." **

Harry froze when a deep, sardonic and menacing voice answered his question. It was coming from Naruto's direction. The blonde started laughing throatily as he raised his head to reveal a completely different Naruto than before causing Harry to jump back in shock.

_This _being impersonating Naruto now had subtle red highlights in his messy blonde hair. The scars on his cheeks that were once so thin they appeared to have been drawn on with a pencil, now were thicker, blacker and had elongated slightly, Naruto's slightly pointed front teeth were now sharpened incisors that a fox would have and his blunt fingernails were now sharp talons. But the feature that had Harry slightly afraid of his new friend were Naruto's eyes which used to be cerulean blue and full of warmth and friendliness; now the blonde's eyes were a sinister blood red and his pupils were slit like a cat's that were filled with hate and malice. If Harry had brought Crookshanks into the room for comparison, they would be a close match.

The poor wizard gulped audibly causing the smirk that had appeared on Naruto's face to widen with interest.

**"What's the matter, cat got ya tongue?" **

Harry instantly decided that he preferred Naruto than his alter-ego.

"Well this isn't something I see everyday." Harry retorted, causing 'Kyuubi' to roll his eyes.

**"Typical. Get's the chance to meet someone completely different and suddenly becomes hostile towards them…" **Kyuubi muttered unimpressed with Harry already.

"Look, I was intrigued okay? I feel sorry that Naruto has to deal with such a complete prat living within him. I can see why he didn't want me to meet you. You're a right foul git." Harry decided.

Kyuubi's smirk widened. **"Thank You."**

"And a comedian? Wow, isn't this my lucky day?" Harry drawled sarcastically.

That wiped the smirk off Kyuubi's face.

**"Now you remind me of that Uchiha brat. He too was extremely sarcastic and rude as well." **Kyuubi remarked contemplatively.

Harry was taken aback. "I remind you of Naruto's precious person?"

Kyuubi pulled a revolted face and turned his head away from Harry.

**"The Uchiha was far more than just his 'precious person'." **Kyuubi told Harry, ignoring Naruto's yelling in the back of his mind. **"Uchiha is known as Naruto's foil, someone who first and foremost became the Kit's rival and challenged him in every aspect of his ninja life so that Naruto could improve himself. Then somewhere along the way, Uchiha became his best friend." **

Harry tried to place himself in Naruto's shoes to try and imagine what that would be like.

**"When Uchiha defected from that blasted village, it broke the kit's heart." **

Harry snapped his head up to look Kyuubi in the eye. The Fox lord snorted humourlessly.

**"Humans. You never learn. Putting your heart on your sleeve is a sure fire way of getting your heart broken in the most unpleasant ways. Which is why 'precious person' isn't a strong enough description to describe what the Uchiha truly means to the Kit. A more accurate term would be 'soul mate'." **Kyuubi stated distastefully to the astonished wizard.

"But that doesn't make sense, how can Sasuke be Naruto's 'soul mate' they're both male." Harry stated.

**"Your point? Gender isn't a factor where the heart is concerned, kid. If you love somebody with all your heart - that feeling will never go away. It stays with you until you take your last breath on this god-forsaken Earth." **

That made Harry go quiet. Kyuubi then growled in annoyance.

**"I gotta go. The Kit's giving me a headache with all his pathetic yelling. Be seeing ya." **Then Naruto's head flopped back down on his chest. Immediately, Naruto stirred and lifted his head to reveal to Harry that his cerulean eyes had returned.

The blonde ninja was not amused.

"What did that overgrown pile of lint talk about?" Naruto demanded hoping that he hadn't revealed anything TOO private to Harry. The wizard pretended that he hadn't heard anything really personal.

"I just asked him a few questions about himself. He's actually kinda scary - did you get that impression too?" He lied. Naruto scratched his head thoughtfully.

"Nah, he's mostly just really annoying." He said, just as there was a knock at the bedroom door.

"Harry? Naruto? Are you awake? I need to get my clothes. Also Mum says that breakfast is ready!" yelled Ron who Naruto could sense was shuffling his feet awkwardly, probably assuming that he and Harry hadn't had their talk just yet.

"Yeah, we're cool Ron. C'mon in." He yelled back as the door instantly opened and Ron cautiously stepped inside, frowning at the troubled look on Harry's face.

"You alright there, Harry?" He asked with concern.

He came back to Earth.

"Huh? No, I just had a freaky nightmare last night." He admitted causing Naruto to groan.

"Oh yeah, we never got around to discussing that. Do you still want to?" He offered.

Harry shook his head.

"Nope. I'll get over it." He lied. "It's probably nothing."

He made a mental note to ask either Sirius or Dumbledore the next time he saw them. He felt that Naruto had other things to deal with, without dumping Harry's problems into his lap.

"Okay, suit yourself. I'm starved." said Naruto, getting dressed at top speed like last time and dashing out the door before Ron and Harry had even a chance to shed a sock.

_And I thought I had it bad… _Thought Harry miserably as he watched Naruto putting a fake mask on to disguise the pain was relieving on a daily basis.

* * *

_"One, 21 Guns. Lay down your arms, give up the fight. One, 21 Guns. Throw up your arms into the sky,  
You and I ..."_


	8. D-Ranked Mission: Wizard Style

**Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry for the delay - I had to re-read the chapter in **_**'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'**_** to figure out what to write next. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this chapter. I don't own **_**Naruto **_**or **_**Harry Potter**_ **™ - they belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

**D-RANK MISSION: WIZARD STYLE  
(A.K.A Cleaning Up Sirius' House)**

Naruto stepped into the Kitchen to be greeted by no one, except a very distracted Mrs Weasley who was hastily preparing breakfast for Harry, Ron and himself. It was clear that they were the stragglers this morning. On his way towards the Kitchen Naruto had overheard Fred and George muttering amongst themselves about the amount of Doxies that their mother had found as well as a nest of something or other… he didn't catch what they were called, but obviously they weren't good.

Curious, Naruto frowned at the back of Mrs Weasley's head.

"What are Doxies?" He asked politely taking a seat at the Kitchen table as Mrs Weasley placed a large pan on the stove. Harry chose that moment to walk into the room and overheard Naruto's question. Like him, Harry had no idea what Doxies were and was just as eager as Naruto to explore something else magical.

"Yeah, I agree. What are Doxies?" He echoed.

Mrs Weasley pointed her 'wand' towards the saucepan and Naruto watched with fascination as something white, thick and creamy poured from the tip of the stick (that Naruto finally learnt the name of from Hermione) into the hot griddle and cooked immediately.

"Household pests, dear." said Mrs Weasley distractedly, then started muttering underneath her breath about all the chores that needed to be done around Sirius' house.

"You mean like Rats and Spiders?" asked Naruto interested.

Mrs Weasley nodded just as Ron walked into the room and shuddered the moment 'spiders' were mentioned. Naruto raised an eyebrow at this friend's reaction, "You afraid of spiders, Ron?" the redhead shuddered again indicating that it was a resounding 'yes'.

Harry sighed before pulling Naruto out of earshot from Mrs Weasley beckoning a reluctant Ron over. What he was about to explain to Naruto was not something either Ron nor Harry wished Mrs Weasley to hear, and Ron's parents had been kept in the dark about what Harry and Ron had REALLY done during the second year at Hogwarts which nearly got them expelled.

"In our second year, Ron and I saw an enormous spider in the Forbidden Forest…and not because we wanted to. It was because he had information we needed." Naruto smirked which made both wizards nervous.

"My friend Shino would've killed to be in your position." Ron's eyes nearly fell out of his head, while Harry struggled to keep from laughing.

"Is your friend insane?" Ron demanded in a frightened squeaky voice as Naruto chuckled with amusement.

"Nope! He LOVES bugs. Can't get enough of them!" He oozed aiming to try and freak out Ron just a little. It was working. "But seriously, Shino specialises with bugs as his ninja skills." He said taking a seat at the table and slouching down into it, yawning deeply. Both wizards looked intrigued by this.

"What do you specialise in?" asked Harry curiously absently rubbing his scar which was burning for some reason. Naruto made a mental note to ask Sirius if he knew any thing about Harry's scar as he answered the curious wizard's question.

"I can control wind chakra," when both boys looked confused Naruto continued his explanation. "Back when I was learning to be a ninja out in the field, Kakashi-sensei - he's my former teacher - gave my teammates and I a special chakra sensitive piece of paper that would determine what chakra we could control."

Both Ron and Harry were hanging off Naruto's every word which boosted the blonde's ego. He wasn't used to having people interested in what he had to say as he mostly stood off in the sidelines listening to people gush over Sasuke and _his_ skills as a ninja. Naruto couldn't help but feel the combined feelings of both sorrow and jealousy when he thought back to those times.

"How could a flimsy piece of paper tell you what chakra you could control?" Ron scoffed disbelievingly. Naruto scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

"Well chakra can bend the four different elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Wind. So the way the paper identifies your element is one of four ways: if you control earth - the paper literally turns into dirt; if you control water - the paper gets all soggy; if you control fire - the paper burns into a crisp; and if you control wind - the paper splits in two. Do you get it now?" He asked hopefully. Naruto wasn't very good at explaining things, as he sometimes didn't quite understand them himself. Luckily, both Harry and Ron nodded. Mrs Weasley suddenly appeared out of nowhere and placed a plate piled up with Pancakes in front of all three boys each. Naruto started drooling slightly and beamed happily at her.

"Yosh! Thanks!" He said happily and started chowing down his breakfast. Mrs Weasley smiled fondly at him.

"You're welcome. Now hurry up and eat! We've got a lot of work to do today." She said before quickly leaving the Kitchen. Harry and Ron groaned unenthusiastically and were surprised when Naruto barely responded to what she had just said.

"Don't tell me you're anal," Ron begged Naruto who snorted humourlessly.

"Get real." He said with his mouth full. He swallowed before talking again. "I hate chores just as much as the next person. Mostly because I had to do them when I first graduated from the Academy back home." He explained causing both wizards to breathe a sigh of relief. "My Apartment back home is a biohazard. Or so my friend Sakura tells me. I don't see what the problem is." Naruto said nonchalantly before diving into his plate again causing Harry and Ron to sweat drop.

"Yeah well, we better hurry. Mum gets a little scary when you keep her waiting. Especially when it comes to housework." Ron explained shuddering a little before attacking his own plate. Naruto grinned. He had an idea up his sleeve that _may _solve all their problems at once.

* * *

Half an hour later after the boys had finished breakfast and cleaned their plates, one blonde ninja and two wizards walked into a very cluttered and dirty drawing room where Mrs Weasley told them to meet her and everyone else. Mr Weasley was at work at the Ministry.

_Lucky… _Thought Naruto miserably as he glanced around the room and felt his mouth drop open in awe. The drawing room was even more impressive than he expected. It was almost as similar to the rooms Sasuke had allowed him to enter on one of those rare occasions he had been allowed to set foot in the Uchiha Compound's main house where Sasuke grew up.

It was a long, high-ceilinged room with olive green walls which had dirty tapestries hanging off them. Harry took one step into the room which sent a small plume of dust rising into the air after stepping on the carpet. Naruto wrinkled his nose with disgust - he was untidy but this was just ridiculous. However the weirdest thing that both Harry and Naruto agreed with was that the heavy-looking velvet forest green curtains - which Mrs Weasley, Ginny, Fred and George and Hermione where currently standing at, with all of them wearing masks over their mouths and noses - were making a loud buzzing noise. Like the curtains had a swarm of angry bees trapped within its folds.

"What's behind curtain number one?" quipped Naruto underneath his breath which caught the attention of Mrs Weasley who immediately stopped what she was doing and gestured towards a nearby table that had several squirt bottles sitting on top of the table along with some masks.

"Oh good, you've come. Quick! Grab a spray bottle and we'll get started on those curtains. There's more Doxies than I originally thought." she instructed. Naruto shrugged and headed for the table grabbing a mask and looping over his ears. He grinned at the thought of how he looked like and started chuckling.

"What's so funny?" asked Ron as he walked over to an unoccupied curtain with Harry.

"Oh nothing, just wearing this mask reminds me of Kakashi-sensei." He explained taking position in between Harry and Ron.

"He wears masks?" Hermione piped up curiously.

"Yep. ALL the time, even when he eats." Naruto confirmed.

"That's weird. Do you think he's got an infectious disease or maybe he's disfigured in some way?" asked Ginny. Naruto laughed louder.

"That's what Sakura and me have been asking for years. We've even tried tricking him to lower his mask so we can see what's underneath. But he's beaten us every time." He explained. "The first time we tried, we tried guessing for ourselves what was underneath that stupid mask. Did he have buck teeth like a rabbit? Or did he have puffy lips like a guppy fish?" He stopped briefly to laugh, Fred and George joining in at the thought. "When we finally asked him what was underneath his mask, do you know what we saw?" He asked trying to see if they would get it right the first time.

"The fish lips?" Fred guessed.

"No! The buck teeth?" George countered. Mrs Weasley tutted disapprovingly underneath her mask.

"Now really boys this is very inappropriate. You shouldn't be making fun of your teacher like that Naruto. You should show him more respect." She scowled at him. Naruto frowned slightly.

"I respect him, don't worry about that. It's just a source of amusement that me and my teammates used to get up to when we were bored. And he doesn't care." Naruto insisted. Mrs Weasley sighed exasperatedly.

"Alright then. As long as what you've just told me is the truth." she relented reluctantly before Fred and George immediately pounced on Naruto for the result of what he, Sakura and Sasuke had seen when Kakashi finally pulled down his mask.

"Well? What was underneath his mask?" The twins asked excitedly. Naruto grumbled inaudibly before replying.

"It was just another stupid mask." He said. Ron's face dropped.

"You're kidding me? What a cheap trick!" He exclaimed. Naruto shrugged.

"Yeah, Sakura and I still try to sneak a look every now and then. But it's not as easy as it looked." Fred and George grinned wickedly.

"Betcha we could find out, if we ever got the chance." They said in unison which always freaked Naruto out. Naruto smirked.

"Good luck. Kakashi's one tricky bastard." The twins smirked back as Mrs Weasley scowled when Naruto called his teacher a 'bastard'.

_So much for being respectful… _She thought exasperatedly as her twins stuck out their hands at Naruto who looked at them with confusion.

"Challenge accepted." They said and Naruto grinned and shook on it. Hermione and Ginny exchanged looks and rolled their eyes.

"Boys." they muttered before focusing on Mrs Weasley for their instructions, but even they were curious about what was underneath Kakashi's mask and they hadn't even met the perverted Copy Ninja. As Naruto held up the spray bottle, he couldn't help but wonder what the stuff was.

"What is this stuff?" He asked Mrs Weasley who answered him without taking her eyes away from the curtain.

"Doxycide." She explained before frowning distastefully at the curtain as though it had done her a personal wrong. "Although, I've never seen such a swarm before. Seriously what has that house-elf been doing for the past ten years?" She fussed over the curtain, missing the scathing glare Hermione threw at her. But Naruto noticed it and frowned curiously.

"What's a house-elf?" He asked.

"House-elves are mistreated servants in Wizarding households," Hermione explained in a know-it-all voice to Naruto that caused Ron and Harry to roll their eyes at. Like they had heard Hermione going on about it before, as Hermione returned her disapproving scowl at Mrs Weasley's back. "And Kreacher is old. It's possible he couldn't manage it…"

"Kreacher is more than capable of doing housework, Hermione." retorted Sirius who had just entered the room at that moment carrying a bloodstained bag, "You'd be surprised how much gets done when he feels like it." He added before catching both Harry and Naruto's inquiring gazes. "Rats. I've been feeding Buckbeak." He explained to them both. Naruto, who had been leaning against a nearby desk, nearly jumped out of his skin when it suddenly started shaking violently.

"What the hell is that?" He demanded backing away very quickly from it as Sirius frowned knowingly.

"I believe that it might be a Boggart. But I might get Moody to check it out first before we set it loose." He explained to the meticulously listening witches, wizards and hyperactive ninja. "Knowing my 'dear' mother…" He said distastefully, ignoring when Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly, "It could be something far worse." Hermione sidled up to Naruto and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Boggarts are like Ghosts. They shape shift into the very thing that scares us the most." Naruto paled.

"G-ghost?" He stammered alarming Hermione.

"You're afraid of Ghosts, Naruto?" She asked concerned. Naruto nodded unable to form words. He had never been good with Ghosts and had been teased mercilessly by Sasuke because of his fear… then Sasuke randomly became nice before leaving the village to seek more training from Orochimaru.

"Well, you're out of luck. Hogwarts is FULL of ghosts." said Ginny in amusement. Naruto paled and started gasping like a fish out of water. Mrs Weasley laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry dear, they're very friendly - they won't harm you." Naruto blinked.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, dear." Harry waded up to Mrs Weasley's side and added his two cents.

"The only Ghost you have to worry about is Peeves."

"Peeves?"

"Yeah, he's a Poltergeist." said Ron. Naruto nodded, not quite happy that where he was going with his innocent and his friends was going to be infested with Ghosts, but he knew that he was going to have to suck it up and deal with it if he was to complete his mission successfully. The desk rattled again, startling everyone and reminding Mrs Weasley about the suspected Boggart.

"Thanks Sirius, that's a relief." She said just as a loud clanging noise started pealing outside the door to the drawing room. Sirius sighed impatiently.

"I told them not to use that doorbell. It always sets her off." Then he hurried out the door and dashed down the stairs.

"Harry can you close the door, please." Mrs Weasley said tiredly. He nodded and closed the door but took his sweet time doing so. Naruto watched him for several minutes before he realised Mrs Weasley was getting angst and decided to hasten Harry along.

"Uh… Harry?" The raven looked over at him, "You better get back in here. Mrs Weasley's giving you the evil eye." Naruto said thumbing over his right shoulder. Harry glanced over at her before quietly shutting the door behind him and following Naruto deeper into the room. "What were you doing anyway?" He asked Harry who winced.

"I just wanted to know what everyone was talking about. If you haven't noticed people have been talking about me behind my back and I don't like it." He replied kind of snippily. Naruto shook his head.

"Sometimes you've gotta just deal with it, dude. I've had people talking about me behind my back ALL the time. You just learn to block it out." Naruto told him not unkindly. Harry didn't like that answer but shut up when Mrs Weasley suddenly called both of them over. She was giving them a pep talk about Doxies.

* * *

"Okay, listen up. Doxies bite and they are extremely poisonous so be careful." She gestured towards a nearby vial of something clear. "I have some antidote in case somebody does get bitten, but I'd rather not use it if I have to." She stated sternly before walking over to the curtain. "When I say so, start squirting. The Doxies will come flying at you, but a direct squirt should immobilise them quickly. When they're down for the count simply pick them up and put them in the buck- WHAT ARE YOU DOING NARUTO?!" Mrs Weasley hollered when about ten Narutos suddenly materialised from out of nowhere and politely took the spray bottles and masks from Harry and his friends. The real Naruto went over to the curtain and turned towards a worried Mrs Weasley giving her a sunny smile.

"Don't worry, I'll have this done quickly." He promised. "You better step back." He suggested. Immediately everyone backed up, Ron had to pull his mother with them as he went to give Naruto some space. Clearly, he had an idea up his sleeve.

"You guys ready?" Naruto asked his clones.

"READY!" they chanted as one.

Naruto shook the curtains. "Spray!" and the Naruto clones aimed and fired as the swarm of angry Doxies flew from the curtain. The beetle-like creatures with fairy wings and black hairs all over their bodies froze in midair like they had been petrified and fell from the air like oversized black pebbles. Naruto immediately stepped away from the curtain and grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Done!" he announced to the mystified group of magical people. "Now we can pick them up and put them in that bucket, right?" He asked Mrs Weasley tilting his head to the side looking like a fox. All the females in the room blushed.

_Awww! That's so cute! _They mentally squealed as Mrs Weasley nodded dumbly and everyone went over to chuck the Doxies into the bucket provided.

"Oi Harry, look!" Naruto nudged Harry in the ribs and pointed towards Fred who was picking up the stunned Doxies and putting them into the bucket, but once or twice placing them into his pocket. George was doing the same thing.

"Why are they doing that?" Naruto muttered to Harry who shrugged. Until George sidled up to them and whispered to them under his breath.

"We're collecting Doxies to study their venom for our Skiving Snackboxes." Naruto frowned.

"Why are you sneaking around to do that? Doesn't your mother approve?" He inquired at the same time that Harry asked George what 'Skiving Snackboxes' were.

"Nope, she hates it." Fred answered Naruto's question while George answered Harry's.

"Especially when she thinks we're duelling, when in reality we're actually testing our 'sweets' on ourselves." Naruto nodded and grinned, believing that they were inventing some sort of prank. And he was all too willing to help out where he could. Naruto LOVED pulling pranks, providing nobody got hurt. Discreetly, Naruto fished out some of the Doxies and handed them over to a surprised Fred and George who looked at Naruto wide-eyed.

"You're not going to dob us in?" Fred asked with a hopeful tone in his voice. Naruto shook his head.

"I won't say anything. But if you get caught, I knew nothing of it and I wasn't involved." He said winking at them mischievously. Fred and George smirked and clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder in gratitude.

"You're okay, mate." Harry grinned at them.

"So you're still planning on making a Joke shop, huh?" He asked as the Twins grinned back and nodded frantically.

"Yep." said George. "We haven't found a permanent place to sell anything yet."

"But at the moment we're selling things mail-order." added Fred winking at Naruto whose face lit up at the prospect of buying some to help him with his pranks back in Konoha or to make a swift getaway from potential pests.

"And it's all thanks to you." said George clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder appreciatively. "Don't worry, Mum doesn't read the Daily Prophet anymore because of all the lies being said about you and Dumbledore." George added.

The morning passed and finally the curtains were free of Doxies and Mrs Weasley slumped onto the chair Sirius had left the bag of dead rats lying on and immediately jumped back up with a yell and wrinkled her nose. Naruto had to turn away to avoid being rude and laughing at her misfortune.

"We'll deal with _that _later after Lunch." said Mrs Weasley pointing towards a crowded shelf which Naruto scanned critically not liking what he saw before the door open and shut downstairs causing Mrs Weasley to sternly demand that they stay in this room while she went downstairs, promising to bring up a plate of Sandwiches for their lunches.

"What's Mundungus doing here?" asked Harry who was standing next to the window with Ron and Hermione. Naruto walked over curiously and glanced down to see what they were talking about. A man who had a face that looked like a basset hound had arrived at the front door, arms piled down with rusty looking cauldrons. Ten seconds later everyone heard Mrs Weasley yelling at the top her lungs at whoever Mundungus was and causing Mrs Black to start screaming as well.

"That doesn't sound good." Everyone in the room winced as Mrs Weasley's furious voice drifted into the room.

"We better close the door." Hermione suggested as Harry, who was the closest to the door walked over and immediately shut it. But not before something small and thin and had a tea-towel wrapped around its waist like a loincloth snuck into the room.

It appeared old and reminded Naruto of one of the Village's elders, Homura Mitokado - if the elder had decided to ditch his traditional yukata and swapped it for a thin loincloth and shaved his head completely bold. Naruto sniggered at the very thought. The little something had wispy white hair growing out from its oversized ears, its eyes were bloodshot like it had a bad nights sleep and its nose was large and snout like. It seemed to ignore everyone in the room muttering to itself. Although because of his advanced hearing, Naruto could hear exactly what it was saying - and it mostly consisted of insults directed towards them. He even heard the word 'mudblood' muttered once or twice and the blonde immediately assumed that the weird creature was directing the term towards one of his new friends. He was about to confront the little bastard when Fred suddenly addressed it.

"Hello Kreacher." The door closed with a very loud snap making 'Kreacher' jump in surprise. The little house-elf that Naruto assumed he was cracked a very unconvincing smile on his face. The ninja decided that this particular house-elf was one to look out for and disliked him immediately.

"Kreacher did not see young master." the house-elf croaked turning and bowing to Fred before muttering to the carpet. "Nasty little brat the blood traitor is."

"Sorry?" called out George, "Didn't quite catch that last part!" Kreacher smiled nastily at George.

"Kreacher said nothing," before muttering inaudibly to himself. Kreacher continued walking around the room inspecting things and insulting everyone in the room. He eyed off Hermione who smiled kindly at the creature who immediately shuddered muttering under its breath,

"…and there's the Mudblood, standing there as bold as brass. Oh if my mistress knew, oh how she'd cry…" before unexpectedly stopping before both Naruto and Harry, both raised an eyebrow at the house-elf. Kreacher raised an eyebrow before turning to address both boys. "…and there's two new boys standing there. Kreacher doesn't know their names. What are they doing here? Kreacher doesn't know…" Hermione waded forward to stand between Harry and Naruto, having ignored the insulting statement Kreacher had made about her so she could introduce Kreacher to Harry and Naruto.

"This is Harry and Naruto, Kreacher" Hermione said, "Harry Potter and Naruto Uzumaki." Kreacher's eyes widened as he started muttering angrily to himself about how Hermione was talking to him like she knew him. The word 'Mudblood' was spoken again and Naruto instantly knew that Kreacher had been talking about Hermione before and clenched his teeth together to force back his anger.

"Don't call her a Mudblood!" bellowed Ron and Ginny angrily as Kreacher smirked and bowed low to the ninja, ignoring them both. Naruto reacted like Kreacher had dribbled on his loincloth.

"What the heck are you doing?" Naruto demanded distastefully. Kreacher straightened himself up as best he could considering he was hunched over slightly.

"Kreacher has never seen you before. But Kreacher doesn't believe that you're a wizard." He croaked inquisitively.

"That's because I'm not. I'm a Ninja." drawled Naruto who backed away from the house-elf deeming Kreacher to be disturbing. He seriously hoped that not all house-elves were like the one still staring at him with his beady, bloodshot eyes. The house-elf raised a bushy eyebrow.

"Kreacher has never heard of Ninja before." He said bowing low once more, this time more respectfully. Clearly, Naruto had somehow impressed the old house-elf unintentionally and considering that the occupants of this house - with the exception of Sirius, of course - were evil, vindictive and nasty people; Naruto decided that was never a good thing.

"Well, now you know." said Naruto frowning at the house-elf and trying to be as polite as possible but finding it difficult. Kreacher then turned his attention towards Harry, his eyes lighting up as they focused on his scar.

"Is it true? Is it Harry Potter?" Harry suddenly felt uncomfortable being scrutinised by Kreacher and looked anywhere but at the house-elf. "Kreacher can see the scar, it must be true, that's the boy who stopped the Dark Lord." Harry's eyes narrowed, as did everyone else's. "Kreacher wonders how he did it-"

"Don't we all, Kreacher? Don't we all?" Fred interrupted impatiently sensing Harry discomfort.

"What do you want anyway?" demanded George frowning at the old house-elf. Kreacher smirked.

"Kreacher is cleaning."

"A likely story."

Harry and Naruto who were standing near the door turned and saw Sirius standing there looking at Kreacher with obvious contempt. Naruto didn't blame Sirius for a second. The moment the house-elf saw Sirius, he bowed so low his nose touched the dusty carpet. Sirius rolled his eyes impatiently. "Stand up straight. Now what are you really doing?" Sirius demanded walking deeper into the drawing room.

"Kreacher is cleaning. Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black-"

"Which is getting blacker by the minute. It's repulsive." Sirius commented sternly and Naruto snorted with laughter which caused Hermione to glower at Naruto. The blonde immediately looked shamefaced until Hermione turned around again then silently snickered.

"Master always likes to joke." Kreacher oozed making Naruto cringe unpleasantly at the tone. However, the vindictive little house-elf started muttering underneath his breath about how Sirius was an ungrateful son to his mistress and that he broke her heart…

"My mother was heartless. She only stayed alive to spite me." Sirius retorted sounding as though his patience was being tested. Kreacher insulted him once more underneath his breath to the point that Sirius decided that enough was enough.

"I will ask you one last time, Kreacher. What are you doing in here?" He asked coldly. "Every time you show with the façade of cleaning, you manage to steal something and sneak it into your room so we can't throw it out!" Kreacher had the cheek to look insulted.

"Kreacher would never remove anything from its proper place in Master's house." Naruto could just make out what Kreacher muttered next, claiming that his mistress would never forgive him if Sirius, the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Naruto suddenly threw away the tapestries and Naruto snorted humourlessly. However, it appeared that Sirius had also heard it.

"I thought that might be the case. My mother will have placed a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the tapestries - so it will make it difficult in removing them. However, that won't stop me from trying. Now go away, Kreacher!" Sirius ordered the house-elf.

Kreacher did so because he couldn't refuse a direct order from his master, but he muttered more insults at Sirius as he threw him a resentful, scathing glare as he went that didn't go unnoticed by Sirius who merely glared back.

"Keep muttering under your breath like that, Kreacher and I _will _become a murderer." Sirius promised with an irritable tone in his voice as he slammed the door behind the house-elf much to Hermione's dismay.

* * *

**Part two of this chapter will be out as soon as I can write it. I have a couple of assignments to finish off and send in before I can do this. So bare with me and I'll update soon. xx**


	9. Sirius' Family Tree

**Welcome to part two of 'cleaning up Sirius' house'! YAY! Be expecting Naruto, Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys continuing their battle for cleanliness in the Drawing Room; and learning about Sirius' family tree from Naruto's point of view.  
**

**Naruto: Shippuden © Masashi Kishimoto and Harry Potter™ © J.K. Rowling. I don't own them at all. Shouts out to Kuro Mitsu for all her lovely, detailed reviews. I'd like to see some more, please :)**

* * *

**SIRIUS' FAMILY TREE**

"Sirius, please be reasonable." Hermione pleaded much to Sirius and everyone else's exasperation. Naruto was convinced Hermione was crazy – nobody in their right mind would want to stick up for something so obviously evil. It appeared his new friends agreed with him. "It's quite possible he's not right in the head. Must you be so harsh?" She protested disapprovingly, but when she saw the unconvinced expressions on her friends' faces, Hermione started to elaborate. "Maybe he doesn't realise that we can hear what he mutters?" Sirius sighed. He knew Hermione meant well, but sometimes he believed that she needed a reality check – and fast.

"Yes Hermione. I do need to be harsh – he's been alone for far too long. He's taking twisted and crazy orders from my mother's portrait, muttering to himself and being reclusive. Besides he's always been such a foul little—"

"Why don't you set him free then?" Hermione interrupted hopefully. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"And risk him revealing all of the Order's secrets to the nearest Witch or Wizard loyal to Voldemort?" Everyone except Harry and Naruto flinched. "I don't think so. Besides I think the shock might kill him." He said, looking like the idea was growing quite appealing, at least until Hermione started looking unconvinced. Sirius merely shrugged. "But by all means, go ahead and suggest to him the idea and see how it takes it. I'm sure I'll find his answer extremely amusing." Sirius stated nonchalantly then strode away from the door, passed a thoroughly unamused Hermione who was currently scowling resentfully at Sirius' back as he approached the Tapestry Kreacher had been talking about and glaring at disgustedly as though the piece of fabric had done him a personal wrong.

Naruto walked up beside the older man along with Harry as they both studied the Tapestry. They could see that it was extremely old, was worn in places and had holes dotted randomly all over it. Presumably because of moths, however Sirius immediately corrected him when Naruto had inadvertently said this out loud and claimed that the holes were the work of the Doxies they had just stunned moments before. The tapestry had gossamer fine golden thread decorating it, so that it came together to create a very detailed drawing of a tree. Just above the tree were large words written both in flowery calligraphy:

_**The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.**_

And underneath that were two words in Latin which had also been written in flowery calligraphy:

'_**Toujours pur'**_

Naruto frowned. What was this supposed to represent anyway?

"You're not on here!" Harry announced grabbing both the ninja and Sirius' attention as he frowned and pointed towards the bottom of the Tapestry.

"Why would he be on the Tapestry? I don't understand." Sirius chuckled with amusement.

"This is my family tree, Naruto. All well-to-do families have them to remind younger generations of where they came from." Naruto nodded now understanding as he let his thoughts drift.

_Would Sasuke's family have a 'family tree' somewhere in their home?… _He pondered as Sirius extended his index finger towards a large black spot on the tapestry that reminded the blonde of cigarettes - as the spot looked very much like somebody had stubbed out their cigarette in that exact spot. He noticed that there were several places where black spots had been dotted randomly over the tapestry.

"I used to be there." Sirius explained to everyone in the room, before letting his arm flop back down against his side lifelessly as he sighed. "My mother did that when I ran away from home. Charming woman. I was sixteen." Naruto's eyes widened when he realised that the older man had obviously had lived a rough life like both Harry, himself and dare he say it, even Sasuke had had. Sirius chuckled humourlessly. "Kreacher amuses himself by muttering the story about how it happened loudly underneath his breath."

"How nice." drawled George sarcastically frowning at the spot.

"Where'd you go when you left home?" asked Naruto. Sirius' hand landed on Harry's head as he scuffed up the boy's hair as he replied affectionately.

"I went 'round to Harry's father's house. I had had enough." He said reminiscently, "I was always welcomed at the Potter's house. I stayed at their house during the school holidays until I was seventeen when I got a place of my own. My Uncle Alphard gave me a decent amount of gold to go towards the place." He said before walking over to point at another black spot. "See? Even he's been blown off the tapestry as well."

"Why'd you leave anyway?" asked Harry quietly, looking sympathetically at his godfather. Naruto refused to look at the man, his eyes still fixed on the black spots. The normally hyperactive ninja could feel the same corrosive anger welling up within him when Sirius first started bitching about his family. He took back those words now - he could see why Sirius would personally disown his parents. Nobody should be treated like that. Sirius smiled bitterly and carded his hand through his long, black unruly hair before answering his godson.

"I hated them. My parents were obsessed with their 'pure-blood' enthusiasm. Stating that to be a member of the 'Black' family was to ultimately be a part of royalty." He scoffed acidly. "My brother was soft enough to believe them." He added, "That's him right there." He pointed towards a magically moving picture of a handsome dark-haired young man who looked similar to Sirius, except that he had a superior looking smirk on his handsome face. The name stencilled underneath the picture read 'Regulus Black' followed by both his birth and death - which had occurred fifteen years ago. "He was younger than me. And as my parents liked to remind me was 'a much better son' than I was." He scoffed resentfully.

"But he died?" Naruto questioned quietly. Sirius' black eyes fixed upon Naruto before he nodded.

"Yes." He said, then scoffed sardonically. "The stupid fool… joined up with the 'Death Eaters'." Naruto's eyes widened comically as Harry's mouth dropped open.

"You're kidding."

"Seriously, Harry? Haven't you seen the contents of this house to know what type of wizards my parents were?" Sirius asked him testily. Harry flushed in embarrassment.

"Were your parents Death Eaters too?" Harry asked.

"Wouldn't surprise me in the least…" Naruto muttered disgustedly earning approving slaps on the back from the Weasley brothers and causing Sirius to smile at him.

_Well that answers that question then… _Harry thought as Sirius shook his head.

"No. But they believed that Voldemort had the right idea about killing off all the muggle-borns and letting all the pure-blood families rule the roost. They believed Regulus was a bloody hero for joining up first."

"Was he killed?" asked Naruto. Sirius nodded.

"Yep, by Voldemort - or one of his associates. Doubt that Regulus was important enough to Voldemort to be killed by him personally." Sirius sighed again before looking up at his brother's face again, "I found out later on after he died that he had gotten in too deeply within Voldemort's group that he panicked about what he had to do and tried to get out before it was too late." He chuckled bitterly once again. "You see, if you sign up into Voldemort's gang, you cannot just simply hand in your resignation if you decide you don't want to do it anymore. Once you sign up, it's for life or it's your death." Sirius explained to everyone in the room grimly.

Naruto hummed understandingly drawing everyone's attention towards him, not that he minded. He was too lost in his thoughts to actually care.

"You remind me a lot of my best friend, Sasuke." Naruto stated to a surprised looking Sirius.

"Really? How do I remind you of him?" Naruto had told Sirius confidentially about Sasuke and knew for a fact that being reminded about that particular boy was not always such a good thing. He prayed that it was a positive memory.

"Well, the way you described your parents, your brother and your relationship with the three of them was almost completely identical. Except of course that Sasuke's mother and older brother, Itachi, loved him with all their hearts, as did his father in his own way. And that Sasuke didn't run away from home." Naruto explained to him. Sirius nodded.

Hermione frowned. "I don't think I completely understand." She wanted Naruto to elaborate further. But the blonde shook his head.

"It's not my place to explain Sasuke's life story to people he wouldn't want to know. Hell, he'd probably kill me now for even mentioning that he and Sirius were to all intents and purposes quite similar. All I can tell you is that the Uchiha family were once one of the richest families in Konoha. They believed that they were better than everyone - only a few of them were humble." He explained vaguely. "Sasuke is a mixture of both personalities." Harry clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"What did you mean by 'were'?" He asked slightly worried what that answer might be.

"Sasuke's family were massacred when both of us were eight. By his older brother." Naruto explained sadly, causing everyone to gasp with shock. However…

"Lunch." Naruto gulped loudly and turned to see Mrs Weasley standing in the doorway with an angry look on her face - luckily it was directed towards Sirius, not them. Though, he knew that they were likely to cop it BIG TIME. Mrs Weasley was carrying in a tray loaded down with sandwiches which she had balanced by the tip of her wand. Instantly, Naruto brightened - both happy to change the subject from him and towards the food and quickly made a beeline for the food, joined swiftly by everyone else except for Harry who stood silently next to his godfather who was still looking at his family tree tapestry. Naruto silently thanked Kyuubi for the use of his enhanced hearing as he eavesdropped on their conversation, while he crammed sandwiches into his mouth.

"I haven't looked at this for years." Sirius explained gingerly touching the old fabric with his fingertips. Harry scanned the tapestry interestedly before his eyes lit up.

"You're related to Tonks?" Naruto frowned.

_Who's Tonks again?_ Then he remembered the woman with the hair that constantly shifted colours and grinned before continuing to chewing away at the sandwiches, still listening to Harry and Sirius.

"You're related to the Malfoys?" Harry sounded shocked and Naruto coughed. Not because he was surprised about the fact that Sirius was apparently related to some family known as the Malfoys, but because of Harry's overly loud outburst that startled Naruto and sent food travelling down the wrong path in his throat. Ron thudded smartly on Naruto's back.

"Woah, you alright there, Naruto?" He asked concerned. Naruto nodded trying to draw breath in.

"Yeah, peachy." Naruto gasped and cleared his throat by taking a swig of something his new friends called Pumpkin Juice. He found that he enjoyed the taste of the orange coloured drink. It was even in his favourite colour. "Who are the Malfoys?" He asked curiously and grinned when he noticed everyone scowling immediately.

"One of those 'pure-blood' families Sirius mentioned before." answered George with his mouth full, "You'll meet Draco Malfoy when you go with us to Hogwarts next month." added Fred distastefully. Naruto smirked.

"He's an asshole, right? That's why you're pulling faces?" Everyone nodded.

"He's worst. He makes Kreacher look sweet." Ron commented, earning a reproachful look from Hermione. "Oh c'mon, Hermione. You gotta agree that you can't _not _compare Kreacher to that idiot." Ron placated. Hermione conceded but still had an annoyed expression on her face for the remainder of the afternoon.

"Why do you ask, anyway?" said Ginny munching away on a sandwich. Naruto thumbed over his shoulder at Harry and Sirius who were still chatting away over the Tapestry.

"Well, apparently Sirius is related to them." He said boredly taking another sandwich and stuffing it into his mouth. Ron dropped the sandwich he was holding in his hand.

"You're joking."

"How did you find that out?" asked Hermione disbelievingly. Naruto pointed towards his ears.

"I have enhanced hearing thanks to Kyuubi." He explained - ignoring when said fox started grumbling about how certain privileges were being abused. Naruto mentally retorted that it was strictly so he could gather information that the two wizards would probably have been sharing. Hermione looked intrigued while everyone else appeared a little freaked out.

"That's understandable. Foxes have been known to have better hearing than humans." she conceded, but then scowled disapprovingly at Naruto who flinched slightly, instinctively believing that Hermione would king kit him like Sakura usually did when throwing looks at him like Hermione was. He was surprised when no blow fell. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that you were eavesdropping on Harry and Sirius' conversation." she stated, causing Ron to roll his eyes.

"Oh c'mon Hermione. That could be handy if we want to dodge Filch in the corridors back at Hogwarts." said Ron looking at Naruto with a calculating glint in his eyes. A fact that Mrs Weasley immediately picked up on.

"What was that Ron?" she asked warningly. Ron flinched, now looking guilty that he had been caught out with his 'idea'. Naruto, Fred and George sniggered while Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes.

"Nothing, Mum." Ron lied, knowing his mother didn't believe him. Mrs Weasley sighed in the way mothers usually do when they're frustrated with their children before looking over at Harry and Sirius.

"Hurry up, you two, or there won't be any food left!" she called out to them, before they both nodded and hurried over to the table. Harry looked distracted by something - but Naruto couldn't question his charge about what was bothering him, as what they were doing next in their cleaning took a lot more effort than they originally thought. This time Sirius stuck around to help with the cleaning.

While they were cleaning the Drawing Room, Naruto noticed with interest and at times amusement when Kreacher snuck in and started taking objects from a large sack that everyone was disposing of various objects. He was caught by Sirius of course who immediately kicked the house-elf out of the room. Kreacher immediately started chucking a massive temper tantrum that shocked Naruto, who was not used to seeing a House-elf behaving like a misbehaving child. He was very amused when Kreacher noticed Naruto observing him and got a filthy look in return. Naruto merely stuck his tongue out childishly at the house-elf who started swearing colourfully at both him and Sirius before the latter finally got fed up and closed the door on the house-elf, locking the door afterwards.

The drawing room took three days to sanitise and the only objects still in the room was the Black Family Tree and the violently rattling desk.

"That was tougher and more annoying than one of my D-ranked missions." Naruto bitched tiredly to nobody in particular. Then sighed when his friends asked him what he meant by D-ranked mission. Naruto then quickly explained what he could remember the Third Hokage tried to explain to him and the rest of team seven long ago when he foolishly complained about the amount of D-ranked missions they had to go on.

_And incurred Sakura's wrath_… He remembered, absently scratching the back of his head where Sakura had walloped him that day, while they moved to the Dining Room where Ron panicked and left the room in a hurry, much to Naruto's amusement and sympathy when they found large spiders hiding in a dresser. It was a fight to the death, and the contenders were Wizards and Ninja versus the rather smart and vindictive house of Black - and it was a close match, backed up by a very resentful Kreacher - who constantly tried to smuggle out belongings that had been tossed and once got threatened with clothes by a thoroughly fed up Sirius.

Naruto caught glimpses of his future 'teachers': Snape whom reminded Naruto of an older looking Sasuke. Except Naruto knew that Sasuke wouldn't be caught dead with lanky, greasy hair unless he had no alternative, such as being on a lengthy mission where he had no choice but to wait until he got back from the mission, whereupon he'd immediately return home and scrub his hair until it squeaked. Snape's mannerisms also freakishly resembled Sasuke's and Naruto knew that should Sasuke ever meet Snape (unlikely to happen, of course) that they'd get on like a house on fire, and Professor McGonagall paid a brief visit and only Naruto was permitted to go downstairs to meet her at her insistence.

His first impression of the stern looking woman was that she was definitely not the type that would enjoy being called 'baa-chan' like Tsunade, and definitely not the type to be fucked with. However, Naruto also liked her and respected her enough to know that he would get the information he required to complete his mission without any hassles. Naruto discovered that cleaning up in a magical household could be dangerous as well when he found himself wrestling with a murderous ghoul that he, Harry, Hermione, Sirius, Tonks - who was visiting and whom offered to help - and the Weasleys found in an upstairs toilet. Naruto decided that Lupin was definitely a friend he would love to keep as he enjoyed spending time joking and chatting with him when the Werewolf (Naruto learnt what he really was during the Dinner Harry and he clashed at) helped him and the others repair a Grandfather clock that liked throwing its bolts. Naruto ended up getting bashed in the head by one of the heavy weights the clock decided to throw at him - thus proving that he was tougher than he appeared at first glance.

* * *

Naruto and Ron were rudely woken up one night by Harry tossing and turning in bed.

"Harry? Are you alright?" When Naruto didn't get a reply, he grew worried. Immediately, he hopped out of his bed and went over to the raven-haired wizard, Ron following swiftly. Naruto gently shook Harry's shoulder.

"Oi! Harry, wake up!" Naruto loudly whispered causing the wizard to bolt upright in bed narrowly missing Naruto by inches. The blonde gulped in relief.

_Thank God! I don't want a repeat performance of that event happening… _He thought, but felt his cheeks reddening and his heart fluttering distractedly at the memory.

_~FLASHBACK~_

_Naruto remembered an event back at the Academy in Konoha when he was going to be meeting his team and teacher shortly after they had graduated. The blonde had been jealous of the attention Sasuke had been getting from all the kunoichi in the classroom. The raven was sitting casually at his desk, ignoring everything and everyone and Naruto was annoyed and curious about why Sasuke was receiving this attention. What exactly was so fascinating about him? He had been intrigued to find out, so he approached Sasuke - noticing that the raven stiffened when he approached - and perched on the desk, squatting and leaning in to squint at his face._

"Is there something you require, dobe?" _Sasuke had rudely asked from behind his clasped hands and scowling at Naruto. The hyperactive twelve year old ignored the question and the negative attention he was receiving from the kunoichi._

"Naruto! Get away from Sasuke-kun!" _demanded Sakura imperiously. _

_Naruto remembered hearing her cracking her knuckles in an unladylike fashion to put her point across. But even that didn't deter him from his 'mission'. It was clear that Sasuke was getting both irritated and uncomfortable with Naruto's scrutinising, then the unthinkable happened all at once. The person Naruto was standing in front of moved unexpectedly and unintentionally pushed Naruto forward. It couldn't have been deliberate - who wants to be placed in the Uchiha's bingo book for publicly humiliating him, and with Konoha's most hated resident no less? Naruto gave a surprised 'ooof' and lerched forward finding himself locking lips with the aloof Uchiha. All hell broke loose as nearly all the girls shrieked with horror. Uzumaki Naruto, the village idiot, had stolen Uchiha Sasuke's first kiss! Both boys were extremely surprised for a split second before they realised what they were doing and immediately broke apart, coughing and retching and throwing each other filthy looks._

"NARUTO!" _The blonde paled and hesitantly looked to the side to see a livid Sakura getting ready to deck Naruto. The luckless blonde started backing away from the temperamental girl._

"S-sakura-chan. Th-tha-that wasn't my fault. S-somebody pushed me…" _Naruto stammered before turning and running for his life. Hours later, Naruto would realise that he had been lying about his initial reaction to that unexpected kiss and understood that he liked it and that his affections had now transferred from Sakura to Sasuke. However, because he was afraid of the Uchiha's reaction, he pretended that he still liked Sakura whilst admiring Sasuke secretly._

_~END OF FLASHBACK~_

Naruto came to when somebody's hand was waved in front of his face. He shook his head and saw Ron giving him a funny look.

"You okay, mate?" He asked concerned. Naruto nodded vehemently.

"Sorry, must have dozed off." He turned his attention towards an equally concerned and slightly annoyed looking Harry who was staring at him questioningly.

"Are you okay, Harry? Did you have a nightmare?" Naruto asked changing the topic from him to Harry's obvious distress. Harry nodded and clutched his head where his scar was. It was burning badly.

"Yes."

"Was it the same one as before?" Naruto asked seriously, knowing that if the answer was correct something bad was going to happen. This wasn't the first time Naruto had to wake Harry up from his sleep. The first time, Naruto made Harry explain to him exactly what his nightmare was so he could help him. He was Harry's bodyguard after all. Ron frowned.

"Before?" Both Naruto and Harry nodded.

"Yep, during the night when Harry and I had our little 'talk'" Naruto explained causing Ron to make an 'ah' expression before listening in to what Harry had yet to say. Harry yawned.

"It's the same corridor as before. Only every time I see that door I can't go past it. Do you think it mean something?" Harry asked sounding vulnerable. Naruto frowned but shrugged one shoulder, indicating that he didn't have an answer to that particular question. Frustrated, Harry nodded resignedly before sinking back into his pillows and rolling over to go back to sleep. Ron looked confused and looked like he was going to ask a question, but a very loud yawn stopped him. All three boys went back to bed, temporarily forgetting about Harry's nightmare.

* * *

**Hope you're all enjoying my story. xx**


	10. The Ministry of Magic

**Welcome back! If you've been reading so far, you should know that Harry is about to go to the Ministry with Mr Weasley to find out what the verdict of his 'crime' is.**

**Thanks to Kuro Mitsu and Vampirecat1191 for their reviews. I'm so loved! ^_^ **

**Anyway, as usual - I must tell you that I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. Sucks to be me. **

**Please enjoy this update!**

* * *

**THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**

"I've ironed your best clothes for tomorrow morning, Harry, and I want you to wash you hair tonight, too. A good first impression can do wonders." Mrs Weasley whispered to Harry during dinner on Wednesday night. Suddenly Harry lost his appetite completely, as he felt as though a brick had replaced his stomach and was now weighing him down with thoughts about what he would do if he really did get expelled from Hogwarts.

Well for starters, Naruto would have to go home prematurely - because his mission was to protect Harry _at _Hogwarts. Outside of Hogwarts wasn't his responsibility. Maybe Harry could take up Sirius' offer of living with him here at Grimmauld place? Just two wizards hiding out from the Dark Wizards who were hunting for them to put them into custody or worse still, kill them. The only sad part of this situation was that Harry would be watching the Weasleys and Hermione becoming fully qualified wizards and witches without him.

Everyone except for Naruto stopped eating and looked at Harry.

"Uh? How am I getting there?" He asked the adults politely, trying to ignore the sympathetic 'hang-in-there' expressions on his friends' faces. He was a little offended that Naruto hadn't bothered to look up or acknowledge that he might soon be out of a mission. Mrs Weasley looked up at him and smiled.

"Arthur's taking you with him to work." she replied gently. Mr Weasley nodded encouragingly at him from across the table where he was sitting beside Naruto who was now taking a large gulp from his Pumpkin Juice.

"You can wait in my office until it's time for your hearing." Mr Weasley reported as he continued eating his dinner. Naruto chose that moment to glance up to see Harry look over at a sulking Sirius. Both he and Mrs Weasley knew what Harry was about to ask, so she beat him to the punch.

"Professor Dumbledore didn't quite think it would be a good idea for Sirius to come along with you to the Trial, Harry." She told him choosing her words carefully. "But I must say that I think he's-"

"_quite right_," added Sirius through clenched teeth as he stared resentfully at his plate of food. Harry looked away in disappointment.

"However, Harry-" The bespectacled wizard glanced up curiously. "Professor Dumbledore did say that as of tomorrow, Naruto will be beginning his bodyguard mission. So instead of Sirius going with you and Arthur tomorrow, _Naruto _will be accompanying you two." Mrs Weasley announced with a rather clipped tone in her voice. Despite the fact that she knew that it was Naruto's job to be in life or death situations. In her eyes, Naruto was still a child - and she heavily disapproved of the lifestyle he was born and raised into. Naruto smiled softly at the obviously upset woman whose hands were tied.

"Which means that Naruto dear, _you'll _also have to look presentable as well. So straight after Harry has done with his shower, you need to go wash your hair as well!" she bossed the poor ninja around. But Naruto found that he didn't care - he was just glad that somebody for once actually wanted him to come back safely without already knowing that he'd be alright out in the battlefield. He imagined his mother probably would've had the same mind length as Mrs Weasley did, whoever the woman was. Harry glanced over at Naruto and smiled slightly feeling grateful, but had a nagging feeling about something.

"When did Dumbledore tell you that?" He asked, still staring at Sirius who smiled sympathetically with him.

"Last night after all of you went to bed." replied Mr Weasley, not making eye contact with him.

"But I had to silently sneak Naruto out of his bed so Dumbledore could tell him his orders." added Mrs Weasley still bustling around near the stove. Naruto winced when he watched Harry angrily stab a baked potato on his plate. Even he felt it was dodgy that Dumbledore was continuously avoiding Harry, but he gathered the powerful old wizard had his reasons and for that reason he decided to stay out of it.

* * *

The next morning, Harry woke up abruptly and crawled backwards into the wall when he found a wide awake Naruto sitting cross-legged on the end of his cot, grinning at him.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead. We gotta get going to your Ministry soon!" Naruto whispered before getting off Harry's bed and indicating towards the neatly folded pile of clothes at the foot the cot. Mrs Weasley must have placed them there last night during her room inspection to check that everyone was sleeping and not talking. Harry shoved aside his doona and inspected the clothing Mrs Weasley had chosen for him. Harry found a freshly ironed pair of light grey pants that were slightly too big for him. A black leather belt had been added to the pile as well as some navy blue socks; and a freshly ironed dark blue shirt with a subtle vertical white pinstriped pattern on it.

"What time is it?" Harry asked groggily as he stepped out of the cot onto the cold hard wood floor. Naruto glanced at a large clock that was on the wall.

"5:30am in the morning." he replied cheerily. Harry raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"How come you're not tired? Usually we have to roll you out of your bed to get you up." said Harry in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. Naruto's grin faded slightly.

"That's only when I'm not on duty. On duty, I'm by the book." He turned and headed for the door, opening it slightly so he couldn't accidentally wake up Ron who was snoring as usual in his cot. Both Naruto and Harry cringed at the chainsaw-like snores that the redhead emitted. "Hurry up. I'll meet you downstairs." Naruto hastened him before quietly shutting the door behind him. Ten minutes later, Harry reached the Kitchen door expecting it to be empty, except for Mr and Mrs Weasley and obviously Naruto, but heard muffled muttering from behind the door. Pushing the door open, he saw to his surprise not only Mr and Mrs Weasley and Naruto sitting at the table waiting for him, but also Sirius, Lupin and Tonks who immediately clapped eyes on the extremely nervous underaged wizard who was shortly going to the Ministry to learn his fate came into the room. Everyone was fully dressed except for Mrs Weasley who was wearing a quilted purple dressing gown.

Almost immediately, Mrs Weasley leapt to her feet.

"Breakfast." she said, pointing towards the chair next to Naruto who was already eating some toast with jam and smiling encouragingly at his friend, before she headed towards the stove and taking her wand out as she went.

"M-morning, Harry." yawned Tonks, "You sleep okay?"

"Yeah." said Harry unenthusiastically. Tonks nodded understandingly as she yawned again.

"I've been awake all night." she said, covering her mouth to stifle the yawn. Naruto beckoned his friend over.

"C'mon and sit down." He said before cramming another piece of toast in his mouth. Mrs Weasley approached Harry expectantly.

"What would you like for Breakfast, Harry?" she asked before rattling out the options. Harry sank down next to Naruto, glancing at the ninja's plate.

"Toast is fine, thanks." He replied smiling slightly before she nodded and disappeared to get it for him. Lupin and Tonks immediately returned to the conversation they apparently had been having before Harry came into the room. The raven was visibly happy that he wasn't invited to join in with the conversation - mostly focusing on keeping down the food he was about to consume. He nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced over to see Naruto smiling at him.

"Don't stress, dude. You're gonna be fine. Just tell the truth, works every time with me." He said jokingly trying to get his friend to crack a smile, any smile, just as long as he didn't look like he was going to bolt the second he was given the opportunity. Right now, he looked like he was going to be heading for his execution not a formal hearing to decide his future as a wizard.

"You say that like you've been through this before, Naruto." Sirius piped up from where he was sitting. Naruto scratched his head sheepishly.

"Well, yeah. Back in Konoha I used to get into trouble a lot. Most of the time, it wasn't even my fault - I just happened to be there at the wrong time, or the Villager who made the mistake pinned it on me." Sirius frowned.

"I see."

Mrs Weasley placed down a plate with a couple of pieces of toast in front of Harry with a jar of marmalade before sitting down beside him and started to fuss with his shirt, while Harry started to eat. Tonks' slightly loud voice grabbed Harry's attention.

"I'm gonna tell Dumbledore that I can't take tonight's shift. I'm just too t-t-tired." she said looking like she was about to flop forward from the force of the yawn. Mr Weasley smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, I'll cover for you. I've got to finish some reports anyway." He reassured her before glancing over at Harry. "You feeling okay, Harry?" Harry shrugged.

"Don't worry. It'll be over soon and you'll be cleared of all charges." He promised him. Harry didn't say anything, as he and Naruto listened to his friends about what they should expect during the hearing.

"Don't lose your temper," added Sirius. "Be polite and stick to the facts." Lupin leaned forward and looked Harry in the eyes.

"Remember that the law is on your side, Harry. You've done nothing wrong." Harry felt the butterflies reappearing in his stomach. "Even underaged wizards are allowed to use magic to protect themselves in emergencies." Harry jumped in surprise when something very cold started trickling down his neck. He looked back to see where it was coming from and realised that it was Mrs Weasley attacking his messy hair with a wet comb. She tutted disapprovingly underneath her breath.

"Your hair isn't going to co-operate is it?" she asked rhetorically as Harry shook his head unnecessarily. Mrs Weasley hummed underneath her breath before zeroing in on Naruto's hair. Immediately, the blonde backed off.

"My hair is a lost cause too, Weasley-san. Sorry." He explained before she frowned but didn't advance any further. Mr Weasley checked the time.

"You ready to go, boys?" Both Harry and Naruto glanced at Mr Weasley. "It's a little early, but it's better to be early than late." He explained before grabbing a coat that clashed with what he was wearing and putting it on.

"Yes, you better put on a jacket too, boys." Mrs Weasley agreed. Harry nodded before making his way back to the bedroom he shared with Ron and Naruto. But Naruto stopped him.

"Lemme get it. What does it look like?" He asked helpfully.

"Uh, dark grey." said Harry feeling slightly flustered.

"Right. Back in a sec." and Naruto disappeared upstairs. He was back on the landing within ten seconds flat. Sometimes it paid to be a ninja with supernatural speed.

"Here ya go." He said passing a thick looking corduroy jacket to Harry who shrugged it on, Naruto doing the same with a bulky looking orange parka. Tonks walked over and hugged Harry.

"You'll be alright, Harry." she promised him.

"Good luck." said Lupin, "I'm sure you'll be fine." Harry nodded before following Mr Weasley and Naruto to the door after getting a brief hug from Mrs Weasley.

"We've got our fingers crossed…" Harry smiled weakly.

"Well… see you later, I hope." He said.

* * *

Five minutes later the three of them were walking down a rather busy street for so early in the morning. At least Naruto suspected it was. Harry kept frowning curiously at Mr Weasley's back as Naruto noticed how the older man had one of his hands buried deep within his pocket. Presumably, holding onto his wand for potential protection.

"Do you usually walk to the Ministry, Mr Weasley?" asked Harry. Mr Weasley chuckled with good humour.

"No, I usually apparate." He replied making a sharp turn down an almost vacant side-street. The brick and cement walls surrounding them were almost completely covered with graffiti, most with vulgar sayings. Naruto pulled a face - he had never seen this much graffiti in his life. The most he'd seen were the occasional ones on the wooden walls of the streets he travelled down back in Konoha on his way to the Hokage Tower or to meet Sakura and Sai at a designated meeting place.

"But obviously both you and Naruto can't… and it's probably more appropriate and respectful that we don't either. Considering why were going to the Ministry in the first place." Mr Weasley added uneasily. Naruto sighed in relief - he still hadn't fully recovered from the first time he had apparated. Only at that time, he had been passenger alongside Dumbledore. His stomach flipped at the very thought and Harry noticed that the ninja had turned slightly green.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" he asked with concern. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I'm cool. Just remembered when I first arrived here. Me and Dumbledore had apparated - wasn't a great feeling." He said vaguely, causing Harry to ponder what apparating would feel like. They pulled out into a more busy road full of 'Muggles' going about their business, while they approached an underground train station. Mr Weasley was beside himself with excitement, as the three of them approached an automatic ticket barricade. Harry had to scan in both Naruto and Mr Weasley as they had never seen trains, or - in Mr Weasley's case - ridden in one that didn't use coal as a fuel source.

"Simply fabulous!" Mr Weasley exclaimed excitedly as he went through the barricade, drawing attention from various Muggles who stared at him strangely. Naruto was more curious about all the cars, buses, motorbikes and even bicycles the 'Muggles' were riding around in. Being from a country-like village with limited electricity for things such as televisions, mobile phones, telephones, kitchen and household appliances; seeing all these new objects was obviously a new experience for Naruto.

They got off at a station at the very heart of London before ascending to the surface. Suddenly, Naruto felt as though he was being watched - he could feel eyes penetrating into the back of his head and he constantly spun around trying to pinpoint the location of the stares. The frightening thing was - those eyes felt alarmingly familiar.

"Naruto? You alright there, son?" asked Mr Weasley curiously. Naruto took another look around for the perpetrator, but came up with nothing.

"Yeah. I'm alright." He replied distractedly before fixing both wizards with a smile so completely fake that both Mr Weasley and Harry knew it. However, Mr Weasley easily dismissed it.

"Alright, if you say so. Let's keep moving then, we don't want to be late." said Mr Weasley, before stopping to figure out where they were as Harry sidled up to Naruto placing a hand on his bodyguard's shoulder.

"You're lying. Aren't you?" Harry questioned just as Mr Weasley asked out loud.

"Now where are we?" Naruto's fake smile dropped as he glanced at his charge before nodding.

"I'll tell you later, Harry. Right now, let's get you cleared of your charges." said Naruto seriously occasionally checking his surroundings just as Mr Weasley very clearly announced,

"Ah yes… this way, boys!" and took off down another side-road with both teenagers close at his heels. Harry was annoyed with Naruto's answer but accepted it for the sake of the exercise as they followed Mr Weasley towards a small red telephone box that was standing nearby an overflowing rubbish skip. The booth was heavily vandalised too.

"Sorry," they heard Mr Weasley say. "but I never come to work by train and it all looked rather different from a Muggle's prospective." He opened the door and indicated for them to head inside. Naruto and Harry both pulled a face at Mr Weasley as if to say 'you've-gotta-be-joking'. When they realised the older man was perfectly serious, they both shrugged and stepped into the telephone booth followed swiftly by Mr Weasley who folded himself inside and pressing both boys rather intimately against each other.

It was a tight squeeze. "I've never used the Visitor's entrance before. This should be an interesting experience." said Mr Weasley cheerily as he searched his pockets for his 'Muggle money'.

"Um… Mr Weasley? I think this machine is busted." Naruto stated indicating a piece of the booth that appeared to have been forcibly removed from the wall by somebody.

"No, no. I'm sure it's fully functional." Mr Weasley reassured him as he passed the correct change to Harry who was the closest to the receiver. However, Harry was finding it hard to move his left arm which was wedged between the small bench where one would put their purse, so eventually Naruto gently pulled the money from Harry's hand and popped them into the coin slot.

"Thank You, Naruto. Now could you please dial six…two…four…another four…and another two?" The blonde complied.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic." A cool female's voice sounded as though the owner was standing in the booth with them. "Please state your name and your business." The voice instructed.

"Er… Arthur Weasley, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, and Naruto Uzumaki here to escort Harry Potter, who has been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing." answered Mr Weasley loudly and clearly.

"Thank You," said the female voice. "Visitors, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes." A muffled clanging noise came from the coin return slot and Naruto, raising an eyebrow, reached over and pulled out two badges each reading their separate names:

**NARUTO UZUMAKI  
**_**Disciplinary Hearing**_

**HARRY POTTER  
**_**Disciplinary Hearing**_

"Weird…" muttered Naruto as he handed Harry his badge. Both of them pinned the badges to their shirts just as the female voice spoke again.

"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wands for registration at the security desk, which is located at the Atrium." Naruto's face dropped just as the entire telephone box shuddered then started descending into the earth.

"Hold on. I haven't got a wand - what do I do now?" he asked Mr Weasley who scratched his face thoughtfully.

"We'll just say that you've accidentally 'broken' your wand and that it's in the process of being replaced. You'll get one when we all head to Diagon Alley for everyone's school supplies." Mr Weasley answered after a few seconds. Naruto nodded hoping that the security guard wouldn't call the older man's bluff.

Suddenly, both Harry and Naruto gasped when a sight greeted them. The 'Ministry' had a highly polished black wood floor decorated with a peacock blue ceiling with gleaming golden symbols that were constantly changing. The walls were shiny dark wood and had fireplaces built into them. Everywhere they looked there were wizards and witches bustling about their business or talking about all things magical. Naruto gasped in amazement when several wizards immerged from the fireplaces in green fire.

"Woah." He mumbled.

At the centre of the Ministry was an enormous fountain with five stone statues standing in the thick of it all. There was a beautiful Witch and a regal, haughty looking Wizard dressed in flowing robes and holding their wands aloft, at their feet were a goblin, a house-elf and a centaur whom were all gazing up at the Witch and Wizard reverently. Jets of water shot out from the Witch and Wizard's wands, the tip of the Goblin's hat, the point of centaur's arrow head and from the ends of the house-elf's pointed ears.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day." said the woman's voice as the telephone booth shuddered to a stop. Mr Weasley opened the door and all three passengers barrelled out of the overcrowded space.

"Let's hope we don't have to do that again." prayed Naruto as he worked out the kinks in his back from where he had been pressed up against Harry whose cheeks had flushed an embarrassed pink colour.

"Right, shall we go on?" asked Mr Weasley as he guided Harry and Naruto through the thickening crowd of Ministry employees. As they went passed the fountain, both Naruto and Harry could see a large sign that said:

_ALL MONEY WITHIN THE FOUNTAIN OF MAGICAL BRETHREN,  
__SHALL BE DONATED TO THE ST MUNGO'S HOSPITAL FOR MAGICAL MALADIES AND INJURIES._

Harry nudged Naruto in the side.

"If I don't get expelled from Hogwarts, I'm going to put ten galleons into that fountain." He promised, forgetting that Naruto wouldn't have a clue what galleons would be. Naruto simply just nodded his approval.

"Over here, boys." called Mr Weasley who was standing near a queue of tired looking wizards and a bored looking wizard standing at the desk inspecting wands. They hurried over as the bored wizard gave Mr Weasley his full attention.

"I'm escorting a visitor." The wizard took one look at Harry.

"Over here, please." He said disinterested before noticing Naruto who was trying to remain inconspicuous, but failing miserably. The guard looked at Mr Weasley rudely jabbing a thumb in Naruto's direction.

"What about him?" He asked. Mr Weasley expertly pulled his professional smile on.

"Naruto here is a foreign exchange student from Japan whose staying with us for the year while he goes to Hogwarts." He lied effortlessly. The guard raised an eyebrow suspecting a trap.

"Uh huh. Where's your wand then?" He demanded to Naruto who looked back at the guard with an indifferent look.

"I broke it. Gotta replace it soon." Naruto replied bluntly before the guard had no choice but accept this explanation. He really couldn't care less anyway - this was just his job, their business was their business. He turned towards a patient Harry and waved a golden rod that looked similar to a car aerial over him before nodding.

"Wand." He grunted indicating towards something that looked like a set of scales which instantly started vibrating the moment Harry's wand touched its dish. A strip of parchment came spooling out the end of the scales which the guard ripped off and scanned quickly before looking up at Harry. "Eleven inches, phoenix-feather core, been in use for four years?" He asked for confirmation. Harry nodded. The guard grunted and nodded curtly. "I keep this," he indicated to the parchment, "You keep this." He thrust Harry's wand at him before shoving the parchment onto a metal spike.

"Thanks." mumbled Harry as he put away his wand. He stopped dead in his tracks when the guard put out his arm to stop him.

"Hang on…" the guard started as he saw Harry's scar on his forehead. Immediately, Naruto moved to help Harry before Mr Weasley sternly dismissed the guard and escorted both boys away. Harry smiled gratefully at Naruto who smiled back a little and nodded. The three of them were jostled about in the large crowd before Mr Weasley led them towards a nearby elevator which they immediately stepped into.

"You better hold on, boys. It tends to get a little bumpy." Mr Weasley advised them, before both immediately scrambled for a leather holder. Unfortunately, there was only one in the crowded space. Quickly, Naruto made a decision. He grabbed the leather holder in one hand and then turned towards Harry…

"Er…sorry to have to do this, Harry. But I'll need to hold on to you - at least until some more of these (indicates to the leather holder) free up." Harry frowned not completely understanding what Naruto was getting at before the elevator started moving and Harry felt a strong arm looping around his waist. Understanding now, Harry blushed furiously glancing up to see the reaction on Naruto's face. The blonde was completely emotionless, but the dark-haired wizard could see that his tanned cheeks had a slight pink pigment in them.

Harry cleared his throat.

"Erm… thanks." He said to his bodyguard.

"S'ok." Naruto replied as he and Harry glanced around at all the strange things the Ministry employees were holding in their arms or flying over everyone's heads. The elevator stopped and the grills in front slid open. The same cool female voice from the telephone box spoke up.

"Level Seven. Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club and Ludicrous Patents Office."

"What in the Seven Hells is Quidditch?" muttered Naruto to Harry and Mr Weasley.

"It's a sport played on broomsticks." answered Harry distractedly.

"Oh."

A wizard carrying an armful of broomsticks left the elevator before disappearing down the corridor. The grills clanged shut again and the elevator continued its trip up.

"Level Six. Department of Magical Transportation, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Boom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office and Apparition Test Office." The voice said again as the grills opened and three or four witches left the elevator and some flying paper airplanes floated in.

"That's so cool!" exclaimed Naruto as he and Harry watched the paper planes floating around their heads. Mr Weasley chuckled before clapping a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Inter-departmental memos. Used to use owls, but the mess was terrible." He explained as the grills clanged shut and resumed its assent. Up and up they travelled until they reached:

"Level Two. Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services."

"That's us, boys. Let's go." Mr Weasley announced before heading out of the elevator with Naruto and Harry in tow.


End file.
